


Heavy is the head that wears the crown

by Ava626



Series: The crown series [1]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: And then a lot more that I can not think of now, Arranged Marriage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Love/Hate, Pregnancy, Sexual Violence, court intrigue, court life, paternity issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-26
Updated: 2015-10-11
Packaged: 2018-04-01 10:16:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 47
Words: 160,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4015951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ava626/pseuds/Ava626
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I have thought of some Dwarven morals, casted them into a story about an arranged marriage, and complicated the matter a whole lot more by adding some intrigues and emotional hurt, and then changed the whole timeline of the story so it would fit more properly and Thorin would not be a pedophile.<br/>On the positive side: Thorin, Fili and Kili live, although I did have to make some alterations in the course of the journey and the battle of the five armies to make that happen.<br/>O yeah, there will also be some Thorin smut :)<br/>The first four chapters are an introduction, to give some necessary background information, the real story will start after that. Comments are always welcome :)</p><p>> This story is currently under revision. The first 16 chapters have already been done, the rest will follow shortly!<</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue I

He had been her beacon in the darkness, her hope when despair seemed to be the only thing that remained.

Ever since her birth, her father had made it very clear that her presence in his household, in his life and in his thoughts was unwanted. Her mother died while giving birth to her, and it was widely believed it broke the Grey Hills king’s heart.   
And heartless was the correct way of describing how he treated his daughter. He had arranged one elderly, stern governess for her, but made no arrangements for her to be schooled or trained in any type of craft or weapon. And when he married for a second time, the abuse and neglect only grew, as her stepmother seemed to delight in tormenting her.  
It was softened somewhat by her older brother, whom, as they grew older, took the role of her father upon himself more and more. He was the one that made it possible for her to sit in the room while he was beaing taught, and he was the one to get his weapons trainers to train her in the evenings when their father was unaware of her whereabouts.  
When she was around fourteen, she started to grow, both mentally and physically. She excelled at history and geography and was great with a bow and sufficient with a sword. Not an axe or warhammer though, as she always stayed rather on the skinny side, although she was tall for a dwarf, her muscles more lean than bulky. But what she was best at, were endurement sports; running and boxing.  
Her brother made it all possible, but it was, as always, her father that had the last word. So when he saw she was quickly becoming one of the most beautiful princesses in all the dwarven kingdoms, he forced her to wear the traditional veil that covered all of her face except her eyes. It was around that time that she started to retreat into her shell, as if the veil became a wall for her to hide behind, something that separated her from the rest of the world.  
But then prince Thorin started to visit her father’s estate. The Grey Hills were situated on the edges of Ereborian territory, an they had always secluded themselves a bit from the rest of the dwarven community, going as far as to have their own language. But they were a part of Erebor nonetheless, and so under the control of the mightiest dwarven kingdom. Thorin’s visits were primarily to inspect the lands, but that started to take second place to seeing Emma. At first he had felt like an older brother to. Of course he had seen the way her father treated her, and he was the one that told her to start keeping her head up, even if it was only a mask. He was the one that told her not to let anyone humiliate her, he was the one that told her to become more proud of herself and not show weakness to anyone.  
She had listened to Thorin and, brought on by the years of abuse she had to suffer, she became closed, detached and proud. She did not let anyone close, shutting herself off from the world. She had not spoken to her father for years, ignoring his snarls and staying away from him as much as possible.   
She adored Thorin for what he had done for her. She imagined herself and Thorin getting married one day. He would take her away from her father, away from her gloomy home, and he would make her completely happy. Despite the age difference and her being not much more than a young teenager, she knew he was her One, just as he knew she was his’. Nothing untoward happened of course, he knew she was too young yet, so marriage or even a declaration of love was out of the question. But they knew, as only dwarves know when they have found their other half.  
But then Smaug came, and she did not see Thorin for decades. She heard stories of course, of how prince Thorin became Thorin Oakenshield, but she never heard anything from him. Untill the day the letter came. Thorin wrote to her father that he was going to take back Erebor and restore his kingdom. He wanted her father’s help; his armies. With the downfall of Erebor, her father proclaimed his land a kingdom, ruled only by him, and there was no one to protest it. But without the backing of Erebor, the downfall of her father came, and he had no standing army worth the name. He only had some guards to protect the small kingdom, and he wasn’t going to send them to help Thorin only to become a part of Erebor again and losing his independance.

She desperately wanted to leave their home, see something of the world, and see Thorin again, and as her father did not want to send his sons or soldiers, she persuaded her brother to have her father send her instead. After much talking, her father caved to his firstborn, and she was allowed to go, even though she was a mere 60 years old, accompanied by a guard her brother knew and liked well, so it wouldn’t look like her father only sent a woman, and instructed to keep her vail on at all times.


	2. Prologue II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> >""< Khuzdul  
> **""** Language of the Grey Hills  
> ~""~ SIndarin

And then there she was, sitting on the edge of a small hobbit chair, the guard waiting outside. She had been the first one to arrive, and the welcome she got was a bit odd. The hobbit had not been expecting her, nor did he seem happy with her in his house, peering at her covered face intensly. But his attention was quickly turned away from her when other dwarves knocked at his door, eating his food, plundering his supplies. Everyone ate, like pigs, while she tried to get some small bites in under her veil, and when the dishes were cleaned and everyone was seated again, there was a sharp knock on the door, and the laughter stopped. It was Thorin. Her face started to glow a little bit, but she hid all her emotions, as she had done so well over the past decades. His attention went to the hobbit, whom was supposed to be the company’s burglar, although he knew nothing of it himself.  
Then, after much talking and debate, both she and the hobbit were given a contract. It felt strange, her father had already written to Thorin with his consent, so why did she have to sign a contract? She quickly read through it. She was to do everything Thorin ordered, and no one would be responsible if anything happened to her, but if the company was to succeed, she would get a rather handsome reward. The contract clearly stated that she, and not her father would get it. She saw it as a way out, as means to escape her father. If the company would succeed, she would have enough funds to take care of herself; perhaps they would even let her stay in Erebor. So she signed without further ado.  
The hobbit, although many tried, could not be persuaded. He did not want to leave his home, especially not to go dragon hunting with a bunch of rowdy dwarves led by the most grumpy dwarf he had ever laid eyes on. So it was decided that she was to take up the role as burglar, as she was a lot more light footed than the rest of the dwarves.  
The next morning at the break of dawn, everyone set off on what would become the journey of their lifes.  
It started off nice enough. She had learned that the aim was to steal the Arkenstone from Smaug, therewith forcing the other dwarven kings to rally beside Thorin in order to kill the beast. Thorin had some sort of map for it, that no one could read yet, but that did show a hidden door. She talked a lot with Fili and Kili, whom, as she learned, were Thorin’s nephews. The other members of the company were also kind to her, taking better care of her then they did for themselves, probably on account of her being a woman. But although Thorin gave her the easy watches and sleeping pleces next to the fire, he did not pay much attention to her, even though she tried catching his gaze. But every once in a while when she looked at him, she noticed that he was staring intensely at her, as if she were some kind of an insult to him. A useless thing her father sent instead of a man. She didn’t get it; they had had great times together, and she had been sure he felt the same about her as she had about him, so why the cold shower? At first, it made her doubt herself. Perhaps she had misread the signals. Perhaps he had never been anything more than a friend, or an acquintance.  
She hid the feelings away, somewhere deep inside her where the rest of the rejection, humiliation and anger was hiding. Instead, she turned to his nephews, admiring their talent for making fun no matter the circumstances.  
But then things went a little too far; two ponies were lost, not her horse, thank Mahal, and Fili and Kili sent her to retrieve them from the smelly trolls that had planned to make a meal out of them. She did not exactly deliver, but if it had not been for her stalling, Gandalf’s help would have come too late. But all ended up well, and she did not expect any repercussions. But then Thorin sent everyone else ahead, telling Fili, Kili and her to stay behind with him.  
She heard Gandalf whispering to Thorin. “I would not include her in this, if I were you.”  
“This is my company and I shall do I as see fit.” Thorin grunted back at Gandalf, but then his voice became softer. “I have promised her father I would take care of her as if she were my own kin, and make sure she would not do anything stupid.”  
Gandalf looked at him as if he wanted to say something else, but must have decided against it as he joined the others who were already going ahead.  
“You three were normally not supposed to come on this journey; you are all too young, especially you.” He started, pointing specifically at her. “But I have warned you, no exceptions will be made regading the consequences for actions because of your age. And you three have thoroughly fucked up.”  
“But uncle..” Kili started.  
“NO! We could all have died! You have endangered our quest, endagered our lives! If you were but a few years younger I would have put you all over my knee for such irresponsible behavior!”  
Emma looked at him through squinted eyes. He did not speak specifically to her, but she had the feeling his words were uniquely directed at her. Her cheeks, hidden by her veil, were burning with anger and humiliation. She was the only one outside of the Blue Mountains to heed his call and come to his aid; she even made the trip all the way to Hobbiton just to be able to travel with them. And for what? To be ignored by the man she believed to be her One once and to be treated as a child? Her fury rose, and she was unable to hold her tongue:  
“You! You are the one responsable! You are supposed to take all the decisions, and you should have had the surroundings checked!” She smirked, and the anger behind that scowl shone thorugh her eyes. “You’re just a bad leader who is afraid to fail and now blames others for possible failures.”  
Fili and Kili looked at her with wide eyes, while Thorin’s face had slowly but steadily reddened with every word she said. When she finished he saw the defiance and disdain in her eyes, and just as she was unable to hold her tongue, he was unable to stop himself from hitting her across her face. The moment his fingertips made contact with her veiled cheek he regretted his actions, and even more so when he saw her head swing to the side by the impact of the blow, and the way she slowly straightened it again, her eyes almost black with all-consuming anger  
She balled her hands into fists, but did not say anything more. Instead, she walked through the woods to her guard.  
**“We’re leaving.”**  
**“My lady?”**  
**“I said that we’re leaving. He’s an asshole.”** She said, jerking her head towards Thorin.  
She got on her horse and took the contract out of her pack. She looked at Thorin, who was looking at her with a pained expression on his face, one more time and then threw the contrct on the ground when she rode off, distantly hearing Thorin say:  
“Come on Emma, I’m—I’m!”  
But she didn’t look at him, she just kept riding, passing the others, who looked at her with the same expression Thorin had. She didn’t care anymore about the possible reward, the freedom it could buy her or the rest of her life. She would not surrender her pride for any of it.  
Thorin felt utterly wrangled. From the second he saw her in the hobbit’s house he had been trying to keep his distance. He had underestimated the effect she would have on him when he agreed to her father sending her, and he was afraid she would be a major distraction. So he avoided speaking to her, avoided looking into the eyes he had longed to see for so long, even though he wanted nothing more than to talk with her, as they did before, and be close to her. But he could not keep himself from looking at her when he thought no one saw him. And then she left, because he could not control his frustration and had behaved terribly dishonourable. From thereon, he was in an even more foul mood than he had been before.  
Emma’s journey went unexpectedly well. There were no problems that she and her guard, who had not dared to ask what happened, couldn’t handle. But at night she doubted herself, as she always did. She had given her word that she would help, but she had really not done anything for them. Her part would only come once her have arrived in Erebor. She was supposed to steal the Arkenstone. And what was she going to do now? She could not go home with her head held high, even if her father was willing to take her back into his home. For nights she tossed and turned, untill the answer became clear: she would have to steal the stone anyway, perhaps even slaying the dragon in the process. If she was lucky, the dragon was either dead or asleep and she could just walk in and out of Erebor without any problems.  
Once arrived in Laketown, she sent her guard away, instructing him to say nothing about what happened. She didn’t mind about his protests, after all, there were only two possible outcomes: she would get the stone or she would die. If she died, she was finally rid of the weight on her shoulders, and if she got the stone, she would have fulfilled her part and she could go home where her brother would probably take care of her.


	3. Prologue III

As she approached Erebor, she remembered the splendor that it used to be. She had been there once, when she was around sixteen. Her whole family had been ordered by king Thror to attend the coming of age ceremony of some son of a nobleman of the court. She had looked at the guards in ceremonial armour, the flags, the merchant caravans and the grand statues in awe, her mouth nearly falling open. But what she had loved most, was the warmth it had somehow breathed, the grey-green stone so different from the grey-black walls of the Grey Hills.

But now there was only ash and ruin and rumble and the overwhelming atmosphere that seemed to breathe death. She did not waste time looking for a hidden door, as she had no clue where it might be and no key to open it. The only other way in was through the broken down front gate, and that was the way she took. She had heard Thorin say that the Arkenstone had to be in the treasure room, so that is where she went. It hadn’t changed much; it was the same gigantic horde of gold and treasures as it was runoured to be 45 years ago.

She saw it immediately, it shone bright amongst the thousands of pieces of gold, jewelry and what not, almost pulsating light to its surroundings. She walked towards it, taking carefull steps, but she noticed that the piles of gold began to shift nonetheless, and she started to run. As she put the Arkenstone in her pocket, thinking that this was so much easier than tought, she noticed a rather large eye under the gold. An eye that blinked and then focussed on her. A dragon’s eye. She started to run to the nearest exit, the dragon screaching and screaming about theft and the people of Laketown and Thorin. She felt her leg hurting from something, but she didn’t stop. As she saw the main entrance again, she heard the dragon breaking through the walls and she knew she would have no chance out in the open. So she hid.

The dragon was stumping around, still screaching and screaming. Threatening to attack Laketown. But she didn’t care and didn’t come out of hiding. Finally, the dragon barged through the main entrance and flies of to Laketown. She saw the beast setting fire to the small city, and she could smell his revenge. But then he fell, and kept falling to never get up again. She sighed, and as the adrenaline started to get out of her blood, she noticed the horrible pain on her right leg. She looked at it, and nearly fainted as she saw there was a gash going as deep as the bone.

She put the Arkenstone in the middle of the entrance hall on the floor, knowing the company would find it when they got there, put on her cloak and stumbled out of Erebor, trying to climb up the mountain in an attempt to find a safe place where she could take care of her leg without the company seeing her.

She saw a large tower, and climbed, or rather: crawled, up the stairs. She was actually crying now; the pain was almost too much to bear. But she knew she had to hide and take care of the wound, otherwise she would have to rely on someone else to take care of it for her, and she really didn’t want to ask the help of the dwarves that would be walking into Erebor soon. She  put some ointment on it, bandaged it as well as she could and put on a fresh pair of trousers.

At dusk, she did indeed see the dwarves enter Erebor, and she fell asleep knowing she had done her job and kept her word.

The next morning she was awoken by footsteps in the tower, and quickly she hid in the little attick in the pointed roof of the tower, gritting her teeth so she didn’t scream out in pain. But a little later she saw it was well worth it; orcs had taken up residence in the tower. She started to panic; how would she ever get out of here?!

The next two days she stayed in the attick, unable to leave. The little hunger and thirst she had, she could still with the bread and water from her pack. But on the third day, something interesting happened. She had already seen two people to the entrance of Erebor, which the dwarves had immediately fortified, but now an army of men and elves gathered at the gates, soon followed by an army of dwarves at the high end of the valley, probably Dain’s by the presence of warhogs. They were about to clash, when the mountain started rumbling, and an army of orcs started marching to Erebor.

Men, dwarves and elves all rallied against the orcs, but strangely enough she didn’t see Thorin or the company coming out of Erebor. Instead, they remained at the barricades watching the battle from high above. Then, they left for a while, disappearing into the mountain, and when they returned, they broke the fortified entrance open and joined their brothers in the fight.

She saw Thorin, Fili, Kili and Dwalin coming in her direction, Kili and Fili walking in to the guard tower. She wanted to yell at them to leave, but she could do nothing without exposing herself. A few moments later, she heard sounds of a skirmish, and then Fili was dragged up the landing of the guard tower, just below her, by a giant, pale, orc. The orc started screaming to Thorin and Dwalin, who had been looking intensely at the guard tower. He held Fili by his hair and puts the blade that was somehow attached to his left arm to Fili’s back.

“Here ends your filthy bloodline!” the orcs yelled at Thorin, seemingly enjoying Thorin’s inability to do anything to save his nephew’s life, and she knew she had to act now. She jumped out of the attick, crying out in pain as she landed on her leg, and stabbed the smaller orc that was with the pale one. The pale one turned around, utterly shocked to see her.

“Yours first!” she said with an undertone of amusement in her voice, while she stabbed his rotting flesh, sounding a lot braver than she actually felt.

As he had not let go of Fili yet, it was easy to stab the orc in his belly, the soft flesh quickly giving in to her sharp blade. For good measures she also stabbed his heart, and he fell to his knees, causing Fili to almost be pushed over the edge of the guard tower. She tried to grab him, but only succeeded to get hold of his hair and part of his fur collar. For a moment she struggled, unable to put enough weight on her leg to pull Fili up, anxiously watched by Thorin, Kili and Dwalin. But then Fili’s foot found bearing, and in a joint effort he got on the landing again.

She wasted no time in regaining her breath or talking to Fili, as the only thing she wanted was to get out of here before she would have to face Thorin. Unfortunately for her, the pale one wasn’t the only orc in the tower, and many were running up the stairs, including one as big as the pale one. She had the advantage of standing higher than them, but quickly  she realised that she would not be able to prevail. But then Fili came to stand next to her and she saw Thorin, Dwalin and Kili attacking the orcs at the bottom of the stairs. After what felt like hours, there was nothing left between Thorin and Emma than dead orcs. She was panting, leaning with her hands on her knees, and Thorin was walking over to her. Well, trying to climb over orc corpses to reach her, to be more precise. She watched his exertions with growing horror, and before he could reach her, she half ran, half slid down the stairs, ducking under his arm and almost knocking over Dwalin. She kept running untill she found her horse, jumped on and pressed her heels in it’s flanks. As the animal ran past the battle field, she saw the death, gore, pain and hopelesness, but also the Rivendel elves that had come and aid the already present armies, and somehow she felt like she could breathe again.

The feeling freedom did not last long however, as she started to notice the pain in her leg ever more. After two hours, she was not able to go on and she stopped and stumbled into some bushes. She desperantly wanted to sleep, forget about Thorin, forget about her leg, but she knew it was too dangerous. So she just slumbered a bit, trying not to feel the pain, the cold or her rumbling stomach. As she was quietly cursing herself for forgetting her pack and her cloak, she heard someone discretely scraping their throat. She jumped up, sword in hand, but she didn’t see anyone. Untill Thorin came out from behind a three.

“You really shouldn’t be traveling alone, you know. Who knows what may roam these lands.” He said with a small hint of amusement in his voice.

“Like you? What are you doing here?!” She hissed.

“I am here to invite you back to Erebor. Did you really want to run off without getting any of the honour, or your reward for that matter?”

“I have kept to the terms of the contract. If you wish you can send me my reward, or you don’t, I don’t care either way. But what you don’t do, is talk to me, or follow me, or ever try to contact me.”

She glanced over him from his face to his toes and back up with a look full of contempt and got back on her horse, leaving Thorin to stand there, again.


	4. Prologue IV

The next day, she arrived at her father’s estate

She did not exactly expect a welcome home party, but the only thing she got was her father seemingly looking disapponted that she was still alive. She shrugged her shoulders and walked to the infirmery, asking the healers to look at her leg. As they took off the bandages, she sees the skin around the gash is turning to an agressive red, and the healer merely running water over the gash made her gasp out in pain. Stitching up the wound almost caused her to fainth.

Two months pass, in which she slowly started to feel better again, though not well enough to start training. After a year, she was finally able to do so again, relieved that she could go back to her normal routine.

 

 

“My lord, it is good to see you after all this time.”

Thorin walked into the public sitting room and clasped her father’s hand, shaking it whille clapping his shoulder.

“And you my king, I am glad you have reclaimed Erebor in one piece.” She nearly huffed in derision. Her father had never had a high opinion of Thorin, but to his face he was more greasy than an eal.

Thorin probably also knew, but he smiled kindly at the welcome anyway. “As am I.”

“Unfortunately, my daughter was not so lucky. “ Her father continued. “As you probably know she was badly injured in the battle and still has trouble walking.” It was utterly frustrating: her father had never showed her any compassion, but now he thought her wound would gain him some profit, he milked it a best he could. It was too bad she couldn’t see their faces, she would have loved to know how Thorin was looking.

“I am aware of her injury and hope she will soon feel well again.”

“Thank you, my king. I was informed you wish to speak to me of stengthening the ties and trades between Erebor and my kingdom. Shall we sit and dine together?”

“Very well.”

When they were sitting at the large wooden table, they ate in silence for a while, but then Thorin took a gulp of wine and scraped his throat.

“Ahum. It is true I wish the ties between Erebor and your kingdom to be stronger. I would therefore like to propose a marriage between your daughter and an Erebor royal.”

“Right, and which royal would this be?”  Her father asked, a little breathless at the no doubt advantageous proposal.

“I would hate to force her into a marriage she does not desire, so I would suggest she comes to live in Erebor for a while and then decides to whom she would like to marry.”

“This is most generous of you, my king, and I shall gladly take the offer. I shall send for my daughter to inform her.”

 

She has been listening to them talk from the shadows, and desperation grew in her heart as she heard that her father had agreed to send her to Erebor and marry Thorin or one of his nephews. She ran back to her rooms, hoping no one saw her in the corridors. As she closed the door, it immediately swung back open and a maid entered.

“My lady, your presence is requested in the dining room.”

She nodded, put on her vail and followed her, trying to keep the emotion from showing on the little part of her face that was visible.

Her father greeted her with a smile, holding out her arm for her to join them. “Daughter, the king has come to visit us with a proposal for marriage for you.”

She only nodded at Thorin, looking at a spot on the wall next to him with a dark expression on her face.

“He has told me he wants your hand in marriage for one of the Erebor royals, and I have agreed.”

Again she nodded, her face going even darker.

“You will live in Erebor for a week and then decide which royal you would prefer to marry.”

She said nor did anything.

“Well come on then, thank him for this honour.”

She bowed. “Thank you your highness.” hoping he noticed the subtle sarcasm.

Her father did not notice anything however, and he sent her back to her rooms.

“Go on now and let us handle the details dear, I will tell you later.”

Four hours later her father walked into her room.

“Well, it seems I have finally found a use for you. You are to leave for Erebor tomorrow.  Start packing your belongings.”

For the first time in multiple decades she looked at her father and spoke to him. “I don’t want to.”

He scoffed. “That is of little consequence. The papers have been signed and I am not going to break my word and miss out on a very large sum just because you _don’t want to_!” he said those last words in a mocking tone, and she knew she would not be able to get out of this. Not unless she ran away this night, but her brother wasn’t here, so he could not help her. And without his help, she had no idea where to go.

So she only nodded and started collecting her things with the help of her three handmaidens. She had the oldest of them, Jalila, send a message to her brother in the hope it would reach him in time and he would be able to come to Erebor before any wedding would take place.

The next morning, she was sitting in a carriage that Thorin had sent, accompanied by her handmaidens and one of the boxing trainers, Jeron, who had agreed to come with her so she could continue her training in Erebor. A day later, her destination was visible on the horizon. As the carriage stopped at the main entrance of Erebor, she looked around her. It was not the splendor it had once been, but it would appear that the dwarves had been working incredibly hard to restore Erebor, as it was almost back to it’s former glory.

“Do you like it?”

She was startled when Thorin spoke to her through the window of the carriage. She just shrugged her shoulders and got out of the carriage without taking his held out hand.

“Shall I show her to your rooms or would you like to see the others first?”

She shrugged her shoulders again, intentionally not looking at him.

“Your rooms it is then.”

He led her through some corridors and she felt his piercing look at her.

“How is your leg?” he asked as he stopped in front a door that led to her rooms.

“Fine.” she said, and she entered the rooms, closing the door in front of him.


	5. Forced I

She was soon joined by her handmaidens, and together they walked through the rooms. Emma was happy to see that her rooms had a balcony, so she could at least get some fresh air and daylight. As she stood on it, breathing in the crisp air, her maidens started to organize her luggage and put everything in the wardrobe. Then there was a soft knock on the door, and one of them walked into the antechamber and opened it.

“Fili, at your service.” Thorin’s oldest nephew and heir said with a bow.

“Yes?”

“I am sorry to disturb, but I have heard Emma has arrived, and I was wondering if she has a moment.”

“Please wait here.”

Jalila, Emma’s first handmaiden, walked onto the balcony.

**”Emma, prince Fili is here and he wants to talk to you. Should I let him in?”** She asked quietly.

Emma looked up from her ponderings. **”Eeehm, yes, let him in.”**

A few moment later, Fil walked onto the balcony and hugged her tightly without any regard for protocol or the changes there had been in their relationship. They weren’t just two people going on a quest with a shared goal anymore. They were a prince and a princess now, and they would perhaps have to marry. “Mahal, it really is you!” He exclaimed in a tone that betrayed how fond he was of her. “ You have no idea how happy I am to see you! I have been waiting to thank you ever since the battle!”

She was startled by his bear hug, and could only stiffly undergo the welcoming. “There really is no need to thank me, I just did the duties I gave my word for.”

Fili looked at the maidens, whom had been standing a little closer than usual after he had just hugged her, and asked: “Could we perhaps speak more privately?”

Emma nodded at her maidens and they walked into the appartment, closing the balcony doors behind them but staying close enough to the windows to be able to see them. They had their orders from their king: the princess was not to be alone with any man before she was married.

Emma did not look at Fili, instead focussing on the lake in the distance. She wasn’t particularily intrested in large bodies of water, but anything was better than to look at a man that had seen her being humiliated and whom she might have to marry without actualy wanting him as a husband.

“Thorin already told me you were not too happy to be here. Are you still upset with him, or us?” He asked tentatively, tilting his head in an attempt to catch her gaze.

“I have no idea what you speak of, Fili.” Emma said, carefully keeping all emotion from her voice.

He looked at her, taxating the genuinity in which she spoke. “Really, no idea?” He said sarastically yet in jest. He knew she wasn’t telling him the truth, but he respected her enough not to press too hard for answers.

“None whatsoever. Now, if you would excuse me, I would like to freshen up after traveling.” Emma repeated her earlier answer, still with a back as straight as a rod and her head held high; a posture she wore as a soldier would wear armour.

Fili wasn’t sure what would  be more difficult to pierce: the armour of a soldier or Emma’s, and he had no real intention of finding out. Not right now at least. “Alright then, but I expect to see you at dinner later, Thorin will hold it in your honor. He will come by to invite you himself, of course.”

“How lovely.” Emma said in a tone that betrayed she would much rather be dinner for a pack of orcs than attend the dinner hosted by Thorin for her.

Fili kissed her hand with a little smirk on his face, and then left. Leaving Emma with her thoughts and the magnificent view she did not really see. She took off her vail and enjoyed the breeze on her uncovered face, taking big, slow gulps of air to calm down. But her peace was short lived, as there was another knock on the door not five minutes after Fili left. Jalila opened it again, smiling curtly at the visitor.

“Kili, at your service.” Kili said with a bow and a boyish smile on his face.

“Yes?’

“I have been informed that the delightfull Emma is here, and I really need to speak with her.”

Jalila crooked an eyebrow at his forwardness, but dutifully walked into the bedroom to announce the second prince of Erebor.

**”Prince Kili is here, should I let him in?”** She asked, feeling as though she was having a deja vu

**”Fine, put him in the sitting room , I will be right out, I have no vail on.”**

Mina and Shana, her other two handmaidens, quickly put her vail on, and she walked to the sitting room, only to be jumped by Kili who gave her an even tighter hug than his brother had done. “I am so happy you are here!” he almost yelled out, beaming with exitement. He kissed her covered cheeks, with quickly withdrew as Jalila discretely coughed.

Yet Emma could not help but laugh as she saw his enthusiasm. She would never admit it, but she had missed this, the complete candor with which he showed his emotions, rarely hiding them from the world to put on a fake facade.

“Shall I show you around Erebor?” he exitedly asked, and she almost felt sorry for disappointing him.

But she wasn’t here for fun, they had forced her to come her, and to marry one of the Durin royals. So Kili wasn’t really her friend, if he had ever been that, he was part of all  the things that were happening at the moment. “Maybe later, if you don’t mind. I have to unpack and wish to freshen up.” She said flatly.

He tilted his head a bit. “So it is true, you actually are upset with us?”

“I don’t know who gave you that idea, but I have no reason to be upset with you.” She said a bit sarcastically.

He sighed in relief, completely missing her sarcasm. “That is great to hear. Will I see you at dinner?”

This made her feel even more sour, and she frowned and curled up her lip in an automatism before answering him. “I have already been informed that I am expected to there, so I guess you will.”

“Great!” he said with a big smile, and then walked, or better yet, ran out.

Emma walked back to the bedroom and told her maids she was going to take a short nap. They left the room quietly, carefull not to make too much noise.  But just as she was able to shed the thought about all that was happening and started to slumber, Jalila put her head around the door.

**”Sorry to disturb you, but the king is here.”** She whispered

Emma clenched her jaw. She could deal with his nephews, but Thorin himself was just too much. Her conflicted feelings unnerved her, and she did not know how to end her confusion. For a year, just ignoring them had helped greatly, but now that she had to see him, that was no longer an option **”Am I not to get a moment of peace?!”** She grumbled.

But she got up anyway, had Jalila put on her vail, again, and walked to the antechamber. “Your highness.” she said with a small bow.

He smiled as he saw her being so formal, and bowed as well. “May I ask you to call me Thorin?” he said, his low voice sending vibrations through the room.

“I am sure that won’t be necessary, your highness.” She replied, hoping that keeping him at a distance might cause him to go away.

He looked a bit taken back with her cold answer, but didn’t say anything about it, inviting her for the dinner later that day instead.

“I would very much like it you could come, and so would Fili and Kili.” He added, his tone no longer so confident.

“As you are the king and I am here at your bidding, whatever pleases you, pleases me.” She said in a bored voice, falling back on courtly manners.

“Emma, could we---could we talk?” he asked carefully.

It was the last thing she wanted, but she knew she could not say no. Even Melo would get upset with her if she insulted the king of Erebor to an unacceptable level, and he was the one person that accepted her just as she was. “If that is you wish, your highness.”

“In the sitting room?” He suggested, extending his arm to show the way.

“Where ever you like, your highness.” She said, walking in the direction he had indicated.

They sat down on the sofas, and Thorin looked at her for a moment.“Tell me what I can do so you will not be upset anymore.”

She smirked, though he could only see the small shift in her eyes. “I am not in the least bit upset.”

“You have no idea how sorry I am, Emma, but I don’t know what to do to make it up to you. Please tell how to make you not be upset with me.” He said softly, willing to show his real feelings where she was not.

“I admit that I might be a little prickly about being dragged here and forced to marry, but as it is your wish, your highness, what else can I do but oblige?” Emma shrugged, hoping her feigned desinterest in the matter would be enough for him to drop it.

She got up. “Now, if you would excuse me, I have to get ready for a dinner I am expected to attend.”

She bowed and started to walk to her bedroom.

“I thought you would be happy about it!” he said softly, almost whispering.

She looked back with a crooked eyebrow.

“I thought you would be happy to be away from your father, and I—I thought you would have gotten over your anger and remembered what you felt for me before.”

He looked at her, but as he could only see her eyes, he could not really read her expression.

“Your conjecture about my so called feelings for you makes no difference, your highness” She said haughtily before swiftly leaving the room.

When she sat in front of her mirror to take her vail of, she heard the doors to her appartment slam shut, and her handmaidens walk into the room, also having heard the king leave.

**”Emma! You are supposed to be nice! You were already short to Fili and Kili, and now you have really insulted the king! Don’t you remember you have to marry one of them?”**

Emma looked up and sees her maidens looking at her with a mix of annoyance and worry on their faces.

She sighed. **”They just annoy me to a point I can not restrain myself anymore.”**

**”But why? What the hell happened on that journey?”**

**”Nothing. Just leave it alone and help me get dressed.”**

They put her in in a dress and started on her hair. It was tangled and dry from traveling, so it took quite a while to get it in order again. Then, they moved on to her make-up, accentuating her eyes, as they were the only things visible. When they were done, they put on her vail and took a look at their work.

A mere five minutes later, there was a knock on the door again. Jalila opened it, and saw Fili and Kili.

“We have come to escort Emma to the dinner.”

“I shall see if the princess is ready, a moment please.”

**”Emma, --“**

**”I heard it Jalila, they are here, what a surprise…. Do you think I could perhaps say I am sick? Or fainth on the way to the dinner?”**

**”I think it would be considered bad manners to not attend a dinner held in your name.”** Jalila said dryly. **”Now go, you will have to marry one of them, you can use tonight to see which one would suit you best.”**

**”That would be the one that leaves me alone.”**

Jalila laughed and started pushing Emma out of the bedroom and into the antechamber, but quickly stopped as she saw the princes looking at them.

They tried to hide their smiles, but weren’t very succesful. “Glad to see you’re feeling better, shall we?” Fili said, extending his arm to her.

Jalila sent her a warning look, and Emma walked out of the door. “Soooo, are you ready to meet the nobles of Erebor?” Kili asked with a crooked smile.

“Ugh.” Emma said.

“We could just run off and say we were abducted or something.” Kili grinned.

“Sure, abduct me to a tavern or something and I will convincingly back your story.” Emma actually had to laugh a bit as she saw Fili and Kili looking at eachother as if they were weighing the possibility of getting away with it.

But then they shook their heads. “Nah, we won’t be able to pull it off now, but soon!?”

“Perhaps.”

“Now then, let us escort you into the hall.” They both offered their arm, and she took them both.

Fili and Kili shared another look, this time unnoticed by Emma, when they saw the look on their uncles face as they walked in with Emma. Thorin frowned so deep that his eyebrows almost became one and he clenched his jaw tightly, his eyes turning dark. Fili sat next to him, Emma besides him and Kili next to her. The servants put the first course on the table, and all started eating, talking and drinking.

“So Emma, shall we show you Erebor tomorrow after breakfast?” Fili asked her.

“I can’t in the morning, but the afternoon would be fine.”

“What plans do you have for the morning then?” Kili asked in a suggestive tone, noticing that Thorin almost spat out his food as he heard the question.

“I run in the morning. And then I have boxing practice, and then I will probably ride for a bit.”

“You do all that in the morning?!” Fili gasped

“No, before I used to do it in the evening, but as I have no more lessons now, I might as well do it first thing.”

“Do you have a pony here?” Thorin asked in his deep voice, almost desperate to also contribute to the conversation so his nephews weren’t the only ones getting her attention. They were getting a little bit too comfortable with her, and the king started to regret that he had offered a choice.

“What would I need a pony for, your highness?”

“Well, eeeh, you said you want to go riding tomorrow.” He said with a little doubt in his voice.

“And why would I need a pony to go riding, your highness?”

Fili and Kili were now biting their lip to refrain from laughing, as they knew full well how their uncle was feeling and what he was doing.

“Eeeh, what else would you go riding on?”

“A horse, your highness.” She said haughtily

“Right, I see. I shall have the stablemaster get you a horse.”

“No need, your highness, I have my own horse.” She replied curtly.

Thorin stared at his plate, not knowing what to say now.

“Shall we go with you, riding I mean?” Fili asked

“If you want to, but I am used to riding by myself, so do not feel obligated.” Emma said, knowing they were not really good riders.

“Not at all, it will be fun, like before!” Kili exclaimed.

She shrugs. “Alright, tomorrow then, two hours after sunrise.”

The main course was served, and Fili, Kili and Emma ate while chit chatting. They do not notice Thorin observing them, mostly looking at Emma. It grated on him that she was able to have a good time with Fili and Kili, let them in without her usual sneers and anger, but could not do the same with him.

When they had finished their dessert, Emma announced that she was going to retire.

“Come on, stay a while longer.” Kili tried, but she shook her head.

“I am quite tired and have to get up early again. I will see you tomorrow.” She bowed to Thorin, a hint of disdain on her face.

The next morning she got up, quickly washed and was helped by a yawning Mina with her vail, this time a tighter one, so she can work out easier. She walked through the still dark antechamber and opened the door of the appartment, only to yelp out in fright when she saw Thorin standing there, accompanied by Dwalin.

“Goodmorning Emma.” He said with a small bow, his hands clasped behind his back.

She looked at them. They both seemed rather sleepy, eyes a bit red, but were staring at her.

“Good morning your highness, Dwalin. To what do I owe this-----pleasure?” she said coldly.

“As you plan on taking a run, I thought it would be wise so send someone with you, to make sure you are safe and do not get lost.” Thorin answered.

“Right, that thinking again. Well, follow along then, your highness, Dwalin.”

And without further ado, she walked to the main entrance. When she was out of Erebor, she took a small mountain path she remembered from a long time ago, and started running up the mountain. Five minutes later she heard strange noises behind her, and as she looked back, she saw Dwalin doubled over, his hands on his knee, panting heavily.

“Emma…a…moment.”

She couldn’t help but laugh a bit. “Dwalin, I don’t think a moment will be enough. Why don’t you just wait here untill I return.”

“….orders…”

“I think you should talk about those orders. Are you really going to do this every morning?”

“I’ll…wait…here.”

“Great.”

She continued running up the mountain, fighting against the ache in the muscles in her leg, and paused a moment as she reached the look-out plateau the path leads to. Any other morning she would have taken the time to enjoy the view, but she knew she has a full day, so she turned and started the descend. When nearly reaching the end of the path, she saw Dwalin sitting and waiting for her.

“I will talk to Thorin about this, although I don’t think he’ll be able to find anyone that can keep up with you.”

“You do that, Dwalin.” She said with a smile, and together they walk to the pratice hall for her boxing training.

Jeron was already waiting for her, and had taken one of the pits and put all the boxing gear in it. “There you are, Emma, had a good run?”

Emma saw that Dwalin was still panting, even though he was sitting down. “It was alright. A bit short, but alright.” She replied with a small smirk towards Dwalin.

She averted her head from the other people training, and Jeron put her teethprotection in and her headprotection on. Lastly, he put the heavy leather gloves on her hands, and then they started her training. An hour later, they were both breathing, leaning with their hands on their knees.

“Do you have some frustrations to work through, Emma?” he asked with a small smile.

“Many.”

“Anything in particular?”

“I have been sent here to either marry a power-crazed gruff or his irresponsable, moronic nephews, what do you think?”

“I think you are perfectly capable of making the right decision. Now go riding with the morons!’ he said, and gave her a wink.

She sighed and trudded to the stables. There, she found Fili and Kili, looking quite sleepy, with red faces and watery eyes.

“Mornin’” they groaned in uniscense.”

“Gentlemen, are you ready or would another time perhaps be better?” Emma asked sarcastically.

“No, now is just fine. The stablemaster is getting our ponies and your horse.” Fili said.

“How do you ride a horse anyway?” Kili asked, rubbing his eyes.

“It is a small horse and I have a special saddle.”

The stablemaster and his assistants led the horse and the ponies out of the stables, and Emma jumped on the horse while Fili and Kili crawled on their ponies with visible effort. They steered their animals to the front of Erebor, and Emma urged her horse to galop, going in the direction of Dale. But when she looked back 10 minutes later, she saw that Fili and Kili were quite far behind, so she turned her horse around and went back, steering her horse with just her legs.

“Come on, you can’t be this slow!”

“No, but our ponies are.” Kili protested.

“Hey Emma, isn’t that your father’s sygil?” Fili asked, pointing at a nearing party of riders.

Emma jerked her head and looks in the direction he is pointing at. “Shit!” she cursed violently. “We have to go back!”

Fili and Kili looked at her strangely, but said nothing as they followed her, urging their ponies to go as fast as possible. When they arrived in the stables and handed the reigns back to the stablemaster, Kili asked: “Is something wrong, Emma?”

“That wasn’t just the sygil of my family, that would have meant it was either my father or my brother. It was our sygil with an extra arrow, meaning it is the second line, my stepmother or my half-brother.”

“And that is a bad thing?”

“Lets just say that compared to Sindor, your uncle is a very lovable teddybear.”

“I actually think you find uncle lovable, you just don’t want to admit it.” Kili remarked, unusually serious.

“You pretend to hate him for what he did, but he has told us the two of you knew eachtother before the quest, and I think you have loved him ever since.” Fili added.

“And I think you are either sleep deprived or still drunk from last night. Now excuse me, I have a half-brother to avoid.” Emma said indignantly and she walked away, the heirs of Erebor looking at her walking, silently snickering.


	6. Forced II

**“Shana, Jalila, Mina!”** Emma yelled, and her handmaidens rushed into her bedroom.

**“Sindor is here, be sure to keep him away from me at all times, no matter what you have to do! You know he annoys me more than everything that roams this earth, and I really don’t feel like having a public fight!”**

**”He was already here and has requested that you join him for breakfast.”** Mina hesitantly admitted.

Emma closed her eyes and sighed. **“Get me dressed then.”** She says with a sour face.

Half an hour later Emma walked into the dining hall, accompanied by Jalila, and sat next to Sindor.

**“You wanted to talk.”** She said haughtily

**“Sit down sister, and show some manners.”**

She clenched her jaw and did as he said, noticing that Thorin was looking at her.

**“What are you doing here, Sindor?”**

**“Father has sent me. We have intercepted your lovely note to Melo. I am here to make sure this whole thing is taken care of as soon as possible.”**

**“Meaning?”**

**“Meaning that you don’t get to choose whom you will marry, but that they decide who wants you.”**

**”You can’t do this!”** she hissed at him. **”Does Melo know about this?”**

**”He won’t be able to save you this time, sister, he’s on  diplomatic mission, remember. Won’t be back untill after your wedding.”** Sindor replied with a smug smile on his face.

**”I gather you have informed them of this?”**

**”I already told Thorin, he has agreed to make the decision withing five days. Just to satisfy my curiousity: did you already make a choice? I am dying to know which one you want.”**

**”When will you leave?”**

**”The second the marriage contracts are signed.”**

**”That would almost make it worth it.”**

**”Go to your rooms sister, I will tell you when a decision has been made.”**

She clenched her jaw again, her lip curling up slightly in anger though invisible to anyone, but got up and walked to her rooms. But when she was leaving the dining hall, Thorin grabbed her elbow. She looked up and saw he was walking next to her.

“Yes, your highness?”

“I have been informed by your brother that you would prefer to let me and my nephews decide.”

“I hope it pleases you, your highness.”

“I suspect it is not your decision at all.”

She kept walking, neither answering nor looking at him.

“I want you to know that it is still your decision. Just tell me when you know, and I will present it as my ruling.”

“Fine. I’ll have Fili.” She said, waiting for his reaction. As she saw his face crumble, she said: “No wait, I think I’ll go for Kili. Or, eeeeehm, perhaps Fili? I don’t know, which one is the blond again?.” She waited yet another moment, and then pointed at one of the guards they passed. “Him. I want him, I’m sure of it.”

“Emma, I am trying to help you here!” Thorin pleaded, frustration dripping from his every word.

“Flip a coin, or better yet: play cards for the delightfull honor of marrying me, but don’t expect me to make a decision and then pretend I was able to chose my husband for myself.” After that, she just slightly bowed to him and continued walking to her room.

 

For the next five days, Emma only left her rooms to train, taking her every meal by herself and not receiving visitors.

 

**********************************************************************************

 

“I would like a word in private with the princess please. And don’t mistake my sentence sounding like a question for it actually being a question.”

“I shall see if she can receive you, your highness.”

Jalila walked into Emma’s bedroom. **” The king would like to speak to you in private, may I send him in?”**

**”No. Tell him I am not receiving visitors.”**

**”I tried that, he is being quite insistent.”**

**”Fine, send him in then, but please put on my vail first. Shana, you stay here.”**

When Emma’s vail was properly put on, Jalila tells Thorin to enter the room.

“Emma.” He said with a small bow.

“Your highness.” She replied with a nod. “Mina will stay here, she does not speak the common tongue. What may I do for you?”

“I am aware that you have not yet let me know whom you wish to marry, but I wish to disclose possible impediments to you. And I have gotten news that such an impediment may exist.”

“Yes, your highness?”

“I used to have a, eeeh, consort, sort of speak. She has informed me that she is with child.” He did not mention when Jessa had told him of her pregnancy, and he did not know why he hadn’t told Emma before. He guessed he just wanted her to have some time to get to know him without writing him off immediately because he had had someone else. But SIndor’s arrival and message meant he had to act sooner, he couldn’t put it off anymore.

“And in which way should this concern me, your highness?” Emma said coldly

“Well, if we were to marry I would already have a child, one that is older than children we might have.”

Emma shrugged her shoulders. “The child is a bastard, not unheard of. I still don’t see how this would concern me, your highness.”

“Please do not refer to my child as a bastard.”

“I think that title describes the situation of the child perfectly. Even if she is your One, you would have to marry her quite soon to convince the court that the child is legitimate, and I doubt there is enough time for that, your highness.”

“She is not my One and I shall not marry her, but I dislike the term ‘bastard’”.

“Then I shall find some other suitable title. Now, was that all, your highness?”

“No, I would like to talk to you about something else.”

“What may that be, your highness?”

“Must you really keep calling me ‘your highness’?” Thorin asked, frustrated and irritated.

“I would feel most comfortable with us adressing eachother in a formal matter. But please, do tell me what you would like to talk about, your highness.” Emma said in a way that would make sure there was little else she was less interested in than what Thorin wanted to say.

“Well, I was wondering if you already found your, eeh, One.”

“My One? Yes, I daresay I have met him, but he is gone. Would that be all, your highness?” She said it in a casual tone, knowing how it would affect him.

“No, not really.You say he is gone, has he passed away?”

“No, your highness”.

“Did he disappear then?”

“No, your highness.”

“Then how can he be gone?”

“He just is. Now, would you like to pry into my private life more or may I go to my boxing training, your highness?”

“Would you permit me to accompany you?”

“If that is your wish, you may, you are the king. But if you would excuse me for a moment, I need to change, your highness.”

“Most certainly, I shall wait in the antechamber.”

And with a small bow, Thorin left the room and Jalila entered it.

**”What did he want?” Jalila and Mina asked.

**”He wanted to inform me that he will be having a bastard soon. And now he is coming to my boxing training with me, I have no idea why. This is all very annoying.”**

**”My lady, please do excuse the question, but you always loved his highness. You even thought he was your One when you were younger. What has changed, why are you not telling him to marry you?” Jalila asked while she was helping Emma in her training clothes.

**”I did love him. But he did something unforgivable, and I believe my feelings to have changed.”**

**”But feelings for a One can’t change. Was he your One then?**

**”He was, but my feelings _can_ change. Now just put on a tighter vail and stop talking about this boring subject.”**

Shana put a tighter vail on Emma, allowing her to move freely during her training, and they walked to the antechamber. There, Thorin could only stare at the tight, and therewith revealing, clothes Emma was wearing, biting his lip before he composed himself again.

“My lady, if you are ready, shall we?” he said as he extended his arm to her.

“Yes, your highness.” Emma said, walking out of the room without taking Thorin’s arm.

Once arrived in the practice area, Emma saw that Sindor and Jeron were already waiting for her, the latter ready to train her. She turned her back to the other people and Jeron put her teethprotection in her mouth and put on her headprotection. When he had put on her gloves and put on his own, they are ready to start. They began with some slow attacks and blocks, after which they had a practice match, swinging real punches at eachother.

“The princess is quite good, isn’t she?” Thorin whispered to Jalila, who was sitting next to him, although whispering was not really necessary as the others were sitting far enough away from them.

“She is, but Jeron would never use his full force on her; she simply isn’t strong enough for that.”

“And has she done much sword practice? I mean, I know she can wield a sword, but does she practice often with it”

“No, not really. She can use a sword properly, and defend herself, but she is much better with a bow.”

“And why has she never trained with a sword?”

“I am not sure, your highness. I think she wanted to, but her father wasn’t much of a supporter of the idea. He only let her train a little bit before she went on the journey with you.”

Thorin just hummed, an idea forming in his head.

“Your highness, may I speak confidential with you?”

Thorin looked at her questionningly, surprised by such a forward question by a handmaiden. “You may.”

“But will you promise to not tell anyone?”

“I will.”

“Well, I eeeh, I..”

“Yes?” he said, raising his eyebrows unpatiently.

“I believe it is important for you to know that princess Emma is not as cold as she seems.”

“And why would you tell me that?”

Jalila started blushing. “Because I think, well, I think she wants to marry you, deep inside.”

“Would she now?”

“But she will never say anything, and her half-brother will want an answer today, so I thought, perhaps…..as the week has almost passed…..”

“I see what you mean. Has she asked you to tell me this?”

“No, your highness, and please don’t tell her I told you this! She has said nothing at all about the subject, but we have been friends for a long time and I know what she feels.”

“Thank you for telling me this, I shall take it under consideration.”

Jalila just nodded, relieved that she had told the king, but afraid he might mention it to Emma. But then the boxing match had ended and Thorin got up without taking further notice of her.

“Lady Emma, I see you are quite accomplished at boxing. Would you like to improve your swordskills? Kili could practice with you right now.”

Emma looked at her half-brother, but his face gave nothing away, so she answered: “I would, your highness.”

“Then please come, or would you like to have a break first?”

“That won’t be necessary, your highness.”

Kili, having heard his uncles question, was standing in the next pit, a practice sword already in his hands. She walked into the pit and also took a sword.

“Want to do some attack-defend moves?”

“Whatever you think is best.”

As they started, Thorin sat closer, observing what Emma could do, but also looking at her well formed figure, which showed in her tight training clothes. His thoughts wandered of to what her face might look like, a thought that has kept popping up in his head over the last days.

Emma and Kili had found a rhytm and kept going faster and swinging harder. It was obvious that Emma enjoyed the training, untill she missed one of Kili’s swings and he hit her in her ribs. Everyone clearly heard the ‘crack’ noise as he did, and they saw Emma’s eyes widening as she gripped her side, the sudden movement causing a strand of her hair to fall out from under her vail and cascading over her back.

“Mahal! Are you alright?” Kili asked Emma while everyone else runs into the pit.

“I am fine, I just need to breath a bit. I will be fine in a minute.”

**”You will go to your rooms right now.”** Sindor barked at her.

She glanced at him angrily, and then left the pit, her hands still clutching at her side. Thorin might not have understood what Sindor said, but he got that she had to leave.

“Please, let me escort you.” He said to Emma, while taking her arm to support her. The others also followed, except for Kili, who was getting a healer.

Once arrived in her rooms, Sindor pulled Emma to her bedroom, barking at the handmaidens to leave. They stood in the antechamber, together with Thorin and Jeron, and they heard Sindor scream.

**”What the hell was that?! You know father does not wat you to train with swords!”**

**”I don’t think that is any of his business anymore.”**

**”No? And you showing your hair to everyone is also not his business?”**

**”It was an accident, Sindor. Let it go and let me get changed and look at my ribs.”**  Emma sighs.

In the meantime, Thorin had asked Jalila to translate for him. As she could not ask for Emma’s approval or disproval to do so, she hesitantly did.

“He is upset that she trained with swords, and that her hair showed.”

**”Accident or not, you do not show your hair. You look like a whore!”** Sindor screamed.

**”A whore? Just because your mother was one before she fucked her way into a marriage with my father, does not mean I have such low morals!”** Emma yelled back, extremely frustrated by the pain and her brother unreasonableness.

“And what do they say now?” Thorin asked Jalila

“Well, eeeeh..”

But before she could translate for him, they heard the sound of a smack, and Jalila’s eyes widened. Thorin ran into the bedroom before Jalila could stop him, and he saw Emma standing there, holding her cheek with her hand and with very dark eyes. Sindor was looking at her with smugness in his eyes, seemingly enjoying the whole scene. Thorin quickly stood between them trying to prevent things from escalating further. Emma wanted to strike at Sindor, who had already backed away from her, but Thorin gently held her shoulders, trying to make her look at him instead of at her half-brother.

**”Can’t take hearing it, HALF-brother? Can’t take hearing that your mother was my father’s private whore and he only married her so you wouldn’t be a bastard? Can’t take hearing how she was never as good as my mother?”** she shrieked

**”I don’t need to hear such filth and lies!** he screamed back. **”And everyone knows how father hates you! Why else would he send you here, parading you in front of three men, hoping one of them will marry you so he is rid of you! So perhaps you really are a whore, trying to get the likes of those men! Tell me, how often have you spread your legs for them already?”**

The handmaidens gasped, and Jeron ran into the bedroom to drag Sindor out of it, while Emma just stood there, looking at Sindor with fiery ice in her eyes. Once Sindor was out of the room, the handmaidens ran in and Emma shrugged of Thorin’s hands of her shoulders.

“If you would excuse me, your highness, I would like to bathe and change now.”

“Certainly Emma. Might I borrow Jalila for a moment?”

Emma looked at Jalila suspiciously, but nodded. She just wanted Thorin to leave the room. Once in the antechamber, Thorin asked Jalila what Sindor and Emma said.

“Well, eeeh, your highness, it is a bit, well, eeh, personal.”

“Please tell me nonetheless. Or should I speak with the princess about things you have said?”

“Please don’t, your highness, I shall tell you!”

And she told him which words were exchanged between Emma and Sindor, causing a look of horror on his face.

 “Thank you. Now go back and take care of the princess, the healer should arrive shortly. And remember: do not say anything of what we have spoken of. Just tell her you refused to translate.”

“Yes, your highness.”

 

 

As Jalila went back to Emma’s rooms, Thorin walked to his study and ordered a servant to fetch his nephews. When they arrived, the three men sat in the lounge chairs next to the fire.

“I am so sorry uncle, I really did not mean for something like that to happen!”

“I know, don’t worry about it, that is not why I have called you here.”

“What happened?” Fili asked.

“Kili has probably broken some of Emma’s ribs while practicing swordfighting with her. But again: not the purpose of this meeting. I have asked you here to finally determine who shall marry her.”

“You are joking right, uncle?” Fili said while smirking.

“Why?”

“Because we have known for a very long time that she is your One, uncle. We have no intention whatsoever to take her away from you.” Kili laughed

“Yes, we were wondering why you didn’t start courting her earlier.” Fili snickered.

“Well, I, I mean, we have not, well, she is not…” Thorin tried to reply.

Kili scoffed. “WHat would you do if I told I want to marry her, uncle? How would you feel f I told you that I just can’t wait to have her in my bed and run my hands all over that perky little bottom of her and suckle on her nipples for hours on end.” He said in a mockingly sultry voice, pleased to see Thorin grabbing on to the armrests so tightly that his knuckles were turning white and his jaw so tensed the vein on his temple was nearly popping.

Thorin nearly jumped out of his chair and wanted to start yelling, but Fili and Kili were already getting up. “Go get her first courting gift, uncle. And don’t worry; we have a sneaking suspicion she likes you as well.” And they walked away, softly laughing.

Thorin sat back and rubbed his forehead. After a while, he got up and walked to the forges, telling the smiths to bring him what he needed. When he got his supplies, he went to work, forgetting everything around him as he made his first of seven courting gifts.

Just as he was done, a servant approached him. “I am very sorry to disturb you, your highness, but your, eeh, former _friend_ is here and she wishes to speak to you.”

“My former friend?  Oooh, yes, my former friend. Please inform her that I shall be with her shortly.”

The servant bowed and left. Half an hour later, Thorin walked into his antechamber and saw his former consort sitting there. She jumped up as he entered and bowed.

“Come on Jess, no need for that.”

“I am sorry to just walk in here, Thorin, but my father does want me at home while I am pregnant, he is afraid I might taint the reputation of the family. I am on my way to my aunt right now, but I can not find a place to sleep. May I please sleep in Erebor tonight?”

Thorin frowned a little, but then said: “Of course you may, I shall have rooms made ready for you. How are you feeling?”

“I am fine, I had already expected my father to react this way.”

“But what after the child is born?”

“I-I was hoping the child might be raised here…..” she softly said.

Thorin sighed. “I will think of a suitable solution. Now go freshen up and then come to the dinner hall for supper.”

“Thank you, Thorin.” She said as she smiled at him.

“Of course, any time. And if you wish to remain here, please know that you can, I will find a house and something to do for you.”

“Would you really?”

“Certainly. But please, for the immediate future: do not tell people of your pregnancy. My intented is here and I would not like it for her to be confronted with you before I have had the time to explain everything.”

“Of course not, no one need know.”

“Thank you. Now go to your former rooms and I will see you at supper.”

But servants always gossip, and before long, everyone, including Emma’s handmaidens, knew that the king’s former, and pregnant, consort was back at Erebor.

 

X-O-X-O

 

In the meantime, the healer was looking at Emma’s ribs. It was a bit of an awkward situation; her face was covered, but the healer could almost see all of her naked upper body, she was only covering her breasts with her arm for some modesty.

“Yes, yes, I see dear. Two broken ribs. I am afraid you will have to refrain from strenuous physical activities for a while. And be carefull with corsets; they may not be pulled too tight.”

Emma sighed. “Fine, thank you for your visit.”

“Any time dear, any time.” The healer said as he walks out of the room with a small bow.

“Well, lets get me dressed and go for a drink in the dinner hall then. Supper shouldn’t be too long now.”

Her handmaidens bathed her, did her make-up and her hair, put a dress on and her vail. They made their way to the dinner hall where they all sat at a table together and drank some mead, talking about the events of the day, but mostly of what an asshole Sindor was and of the arrival of Thorin’s former consort.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Want to know more about Thorin and Jessa? I have written a small side fic to this story, called "A crown is merely a hat that lets the rain in", look it up!


	7. Forced III

As it was almost time for supper, all the nobles were entering the dinner hall, and all saw the former consort also entering, looking for a place near to the king, who was looking at her, but also at Emma with a bit of apprehension.

**”O dear, would that be her?”** Shana whispered.

**”I do believe it is.”** Jalila said, looking at Emma to see her reaction.

**”If that is her, then I do not believe that the king has ever suffered from goldsickness.”** Mina stated.

**”How so?”** Emma asked.

**”Well, look at her, she is disgusting! If he has layn with that, then it was undoubtedly syfilis that has made him go mad, and not goldsickness!”**

Emma and her handmaidens could not help from bursting out in laughter as Mina explained with a smirk, and the whole hall looked at them while they heard it. The first bets were being placed: the consort versus the woman that woud probably be the new addition to the royal family, most likely the new wife of the king. As the women noticed the attention they were attrackting, they tried to restrain themselves, but it was to little effect; everyone could still hear their melodious giggles.

They made an even greater effort as they saw Thorin approaching them, and Emma bit her lip in order to be quiet. “Emma, how lovely to see you here. I trust you are feeling better?”

“I am, thank you, your highness.”

“Would you like to accompany me for dinner?”

“If that is your wish, your highness.” She replied and followed him to take her seat next to him, Mina standing behind her and Shana and Jalila remaining at the table.

When supper had ended, Thorin got up and turned to Emma, whom had not said anything to him the whole time she was sitting next to him. “Princess Emma, you have enlightened Erebor with your presence during your stay, and we are privileged to have you here. We would therefore be honored if you would accept this present as a small token of our gratitude and as a sign you will remain by our side.” He said formally.

Although it was not stated as such, it was clear that Thorin offered her the first courting gift. “I am gratefull for your thoughtfullness, your highness, and the honor would be all mine to wear and treasure your gift.”

Emma was screaming ‘No, No NO!’ on the inside, but she was perfectly capable to reply to him as was expected of her. As she had given him her acceptance of his courting proposal, he put a ring on her finger. She bowed her head to him, and he sat down again, all present clapping and cheering.

Once everyone had calmed down again, she looked at the ring. It is made of mythril and shaped as branches around her finger, all the way from her knuckle to the first joint. In the branches, small pearls and diamonds were placed. If she was honest, the ring took her breath away. It was exactly to her taste, but she did let anyone see her appreciation for the gift, instead holding her expressionless face.

Half an hour later, she announced that she was going to retire to her rooms.

“May I escort you there, princess?” Thorin asked.

“If it pleases you to do so, your highness.”

He got up and led the way, her handmaidens following closeby.

“Does my gift please you, Emma?” Thorin asked while they walk to her rooms

“If it pleases you, it pleases me, your highness.”

“And if it came from another man, would it please you then?” Thorin asked.

“Then I would ask my father or my brothers if it pleases me, your highness.”

They arrived at the doors to her rooms. “May I come in so we can speak privately?”

“You may, your highness.” Emma replied, and she sent her handmaidens, except for Mina, to her bedroom.

They sat on one of the sofas in the antechamber. “May I speak frankly with you, Emma?”

“Whatever you like, your highness.” She said stoical.

“There was a time that you did not call me ‘your highness’ and I did not call you ‘princess’, but just Emma.”

“There was, your highness.”

“Would there be a possibility to go back to that time?”

“One never knows what the future brings, but going back in time is quite impossible, your highness.” She said, still not looking at him.

He had to do his utmost best to keep his frustrations hidden. He wanted her to look at him, and he wanted to see the expression on her face, give him some clue as to what she was actually feeling. But he managed, and continued:

“I know I have wounded your pride, and you can not imagine how I regret that, knowing I can not change it. But is there something I could do to change your feelings towards me? Now that we have started courting, I mean.”

“I do not know what you are refering to, your highness.” She said coldly, her face hardening.

“Right. Well, I merely wish to to make my sincere wish for us to grow closer clear.”

“Thank you for that, your highness.”

“Shall we meet with Balin tomorrow to settle the details of our courtship?”

“Whatever you like. Please let my half-brother know when and where he will be expected, your highness.”

“I shall.” Thorin said, disappointment, brought on by her enduring cold attitude, clearly audible in his voice.

A silence fell between them, but after a few moments, Thorin cleared his throat.

“You told me that your One has gone, but that he isn’t dead nor missing. I have to admit that I am very curious as to what has happened to him.”

“Why, your highness?”

“Because if we are to marry, I would like to know where the man is to whom my wife’s heart belongs.”

“You need not worry about that. As I said, he is gone, your highness.”

“But where is he then?”

“I have no idea whatsoever, your highness.”

“So he is missing?”

“No, I already said he is not. He is just gone, your highness.”

Thorin looked at her with a soft expression. “Please, tell me what happened.” He said gently.

“Fine, as you can’t seem te be able to let the subject rest. He was my One, but he changed and so did my feelings for him, your highness.”

“You can never change your feelings for your One, no matter what.” Thorin said with a little disbelief in his voice.

Emma shrugged her shoulders. “I can and I have. Shall we let the matter rest now, your highness?”

“If you wish, Emma. Will you tell me what the fight between you and your brother this afternoon was about.”

“My half-brother, your highness.”

“Right, your half-brother.”

“He was unhappy about the way things transpired this morning, your highness.”

“Certainly one does not get into a fight like that just over some discontent.”

“I might have offended him, but only after he offended me, your highness.”

“And are you alright now?”

“I am, your highness.” Emma said, but Thorin saw her eyes harden.

He cupped her jaw, but when Mina scraped her throat, he let go and looked at her. “I will never let anything like that happen to you anymore.” He whispered softly.

She pulls her head away from his gentle grip. “I don’t need you nor anyone else to protect me. I can take care of myself, your highness.”

He put his hand on her back, but quickly takes it away as Mina clears her throat, louder than the first time. “I know you can, you have proven yourself to be a skilled opponent in battle, but I don’t speak of physically taking care; I speak of taking care emotionally.”

“I believe I am very tired. I shall go to bed now. Goodnight, your highness.” She said, and she get up and walked to her room, quickly followed by Mina.

Thorin sat in her antechamber a little bit longer, thinking of what she had said, but also of what she hadn’t said, which might be even more interesting.


	8. Forced IV

The next morning, a servant let Jalila know that Emma was expected in Balin’s chambers after breakfast for the meeting about the details of the courtship. So, after being dressed and having breakfast, a servant escorted Emma to Balin’s room where she found Thorin, Sindor and Balin already waiting for her. She briefly nodded at them and took a seat.

“Well” Balin started. “We are here to negotiate the details of the courtship. Perhaps it is best if I explain the general process of the courtship before we go into the details?”

“That would be nice, thank you.” Sindor said.

“So, in total seven gifts will be presented to the princess, of which the last one is the housing his highness will provide, and the first one is the ring already given to the princess. The nature of the gifts will be decided by his highness, as is the timing of the gift giving. The princess has the right to refuse a gift, therewith effectively ending the courtship. If all gifts are accepted by the princess, the marriage will follow soon after. During the courtship, it is up to the princess and her escorts to determine how well his highness and her may get to know eachother and which liberties will be granted. Once the final gift is accepted and the date of the marriage is set, the dowry will be given to either the princess or her father, that will be your decision to make. Once the marriage has taken place and is consumed, the sign of Durin will be put on the princess’ body in a place of her choosing. Should it turn out during the wedding night that Emma is not a virgin, three quarters of the bride price will have to be returned to his highness. Do you have any questions regarding this process?”

**”Well then, half-sister, do you have any questions? Perhaps some previous dalliance to confess to?”** Sindor sneers at Emma with a wolfish grin on his face.

**”Just shut up, Sindor. I can not imagine you will have anything intelligent to say about this matter. Get it over with and leave before you embarass yourself.”**

But Sindor saw and opportunity to get his sister back for what she had said to him. “We do have some remarks, lord Balin. I am not in the position to stay much longer, so I am afraid that I must insist on a short courtship.”

“How short would be of your convenience?” Balin asked.

“If things could be arranged within a week and the wedding the day after the last gift, I would be much obliged.

Balin frowned. “That is unheard of, such a short courtship.”

“I think, taking into consideration that a marriage is to be arranged anyway, it is plenty of time. The courtship is really only a matter of formal display. Besides, they have known eachother for much longer than the time the princess has spent here, so I believe they know eachother well enough.”

Thorin knew what Sindor was doing, but he said nothing, he himself also preferring a short courtship. Instead, he looked at Emma to find out what she wanted, but her face, as far as he could see it, gave nothing away.

“Princess, what are your thoughts about this?” Balin asked Emma.

“Whatever pleases his highness and you, also pleases me.” She said emotionless.

Balin looked at Thorin, but the king didnot return his look.

He sighed and looked back at Sindor. “Very well then, if that is what you want. Do you have any other remarks?”

“Yes. During the courtship, his highness and the princess are not to see eachother without a chaperone. One of the princess’ handmaidens will be present at all times.”

“Certainly. I shall inform everyone of the wedding date and start making preparations for the feast.”

“Thank you lord Balin, my father will be very pleased to hear this”

“One more thing. Who will get the dowry?”

“Please give it to me, I will make sure that the arrangements made within our family are carried out.”

Balin glanced at Emma before nodded and taking out the marriage contracts, which are signed by all present. Emma looked at it for a moment before putting her signature on it. It was a farce, really. Her scribling her name down ment nothing, as all the other contracts had already been signed, and Sindor could always decide for her. She looked at her younger brother. **”If I sign this, will you leave?”**

Sindor chuckled. **”I will, I have no more desire to be here in this farce of a kingdom. Though I will miss hearing you cry during your wedding night. Your husband-to-be is quite a big man, don’t you think? I bet his unseen parts are also big.”**

Emma did not know exactly what he meant, but ust assumed he was being his malicious self again. With a small sign, she put her signature at the bottom of the contract. Anything to make him leave.

“Your highness, lord Balin, thank you for your time.” Emma said as she got up.

“Wait, I will walk with you.” Thorin hurried to say as he jumped up and followed her.

“Are you- are you content with this?” he asked her as they walked in the hallways.

“It is not up to me to have an opinion about this, your highness. Whatever pleases you, pleases me.”

Thorin tilted his head. “I think we both know that is not the case, Emma. You always had quite a strong opinion about things, why are you not sharing it now?”

“For I do not wish to spend energy on matters that can not be changed, your highness. What did you do to decide, I wonder. A game of chance or something else?”

“Will you dine with me tonight. Privately, I mean. I will explain everything to you, anything you wish to know.”

“As I said, whatever pleases you, pleases me. Let my handmaidens know what time you expect me and I shall be there, your highness.” And with that, she walked off, leaving Thorin in the middle of a hallway.

 

Over the next six days, Thorin gifted Emma with a necklace matching her ring, a tiara matching her ring, diamond earrings, a new wardrobe she could pick out and a county which gave her a title of her own and revenu from the leases on the land, but which would be controlled by a steward as it would not be fitting for a queen to do it herself. The last gift, the housing, had been inspected by Sindor and approved of, so the marriage could go on as planned. During those six days, Thorin had tried to get closer to Emma, but she had held him off, only replying to his questions with short answers and not contributing to the conversation herself.


	9. Forced V

It was the night before Thorin and Emma’s wedding. As was customary, he spent it while drinking with his friends in one of the smaller halls. It was not an evening that grew so late as other evenings spent in good company and ale would, because Thorin wished to feel his best at his wedding day.  Normally Emma would spend it with female relatives, but as her only female relative was her stepmother and she would rather have disemboweled herself than spent time with the ghastly woman, she was just in the company of her handmaidens.

Mead, wine and refreshments had been brought to her chambers, and the evening passed as they did before; trying new things on eachothers hair, talking, gossiping and laughing. They were all nervous about the next day, Emma because she still felt ambiguous about the marriage, and her handmaidens because they worried for her. So their voices were were softer than normal and their quiet laughter was laced with trembles of tension.  

Around eleven there was a sharp knock on the door, and they all looked up. It would be very unusual for someone to visit Emma now, and Jalila hesitantly walked to the door, opening it curiously.

She frowned when she saw three dark haired elves, a blonde she-elf and a wizard standing in the doorway.

“Yes?”

“Pardon our intrusion, my lady, but we need to speak with the princess urgently.” Gandalf said with a kind smile, while the elves keep their stern look.

“It is the night before the princess’ wedding, my lord. I am afraid she can not be disturbed.” Jalila said, putting her hands on her sides to make her stand more clear, something she was unable to do with her tone of voice.

“We are aware of the circumstances. Please get her now.” One of the elves commanded in an emotionless yet demanding tone.

Jalila  hesitated for a moment, looking at the visitors and then back in the direction of the bedroom. She somehow felt it would not be a good idea to do as they asked of her, but she could not deny their request; it was not up to her to decide whom Emma would and would not talk to. She walked back to the bedroom where they had been sitting and informed Emma of her guests. Initially, Emma wanted to refuse receiving her guests, but after a small hesitation she got up, put on a vail and went to the door, pulling her dressing robe tighter around her waist.

Once she looked into the hallway, she smiled in surprise. It was a bit odd that Gandalf was her now, but she could appreciate that he had taken the time to leave whatever activities wizards had and come here. “Gandalf! What brings you here on this odd hour? You do know the wedding is  tomorrow and not now, right?”

There was a moment of akwardness, in which Gandalf looked patiently benign, the blonde elf smiled eerily and the dark haired elves stared at her intensely and the oldest breathlessly said “Emma”. Then Gandalf opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by one of the elves, whom was looking around nervously: “Emma, please follow us. We need to leave now.”

Emma frowned, looking around confused, trying to see what the elf was looking at. “And exactly who may you be and where should we go to?” She asked when everything seemed calm and normal in the hallway.

The slightly taller and older looking elf that had said her name in such an unappropriate way answered: “I am lord Elrond of Rivendell, these are my sons, Elladan and Elrohir, and this is lady Galadriel, lady of the light. We are here to take you away so you will not have to marry Thorin.”

This was definitely one of the highest ranking odd things she had ever encountered, a dark version of the fairytales her brother read to her when she was little, and that was counting a confrontation with a dragon. She had no idea what to make of of the elf’s odd statement, and was completely confounded with regard to his intentions. Why would and elf of all people want to take her away from her wedding? It rather sounded like an elaborate joke, and she strongly suspected Fili and Kili had something to do with it.

 “Take me away? From my wedding? Whatever has given you the idea that I should be taken away from it?!” She finally blurted out, having decided to humor her soon-to-be husband’s nephew’s.

Lord Elrond sighed. “This is not what you are meant to be. And you are not yet of age, Emma, you can not marry him.”

The grave tone of his vice finally made her doubt very strongly this was a some prank Fili and Kili had concocted, and the gravity of the matter hit her: they actually wanted to abduct her to whatever forsaken place they came from.

“And somehow you have gotten the impression that it should be you that has to take me away? Who do you think you are, meddling in my affairs, some kind of stretched out knight in shining armour?!” Emma hissed angrily, and she looked back at her handmaidens, ordering them in her own language to go and fetch Thorin. Jalila quickly walked off, but was stoppped in her tracks by a wave of the hand of another man, this time a dwarf, entering the royal corridor and stopping at Emma’s door.

It was Melo, Emma’s older brother. He had been sent on a diplomatic mission to a small dwarven settlement in the Misty Mountains by his father, probably to keep him away from the wedding negotiations. At first, he had thought nothing of it. But then he got Emma’s urgent letter and a taunting letter from his half-brother, describing how their father had sent Emma to Erebor to get married in his absence. The fool must have thought that Melo would not be in time, otherwise he would not have sent it yet. So at first he had ridden to Erebor to see if his sister was actually agreeing to this, or if he should intervene. However, he then heard strange rumours of a bunch of high-ranking elves riding to the same destination with great haste, and it somehow had given him a bad taste in his mouth. It was too odd to be a coincidence; everyone knew how Thorin despised elves, so he would not be inviting them to the wedding. And finally, after some sixty years, the answer to the mystery that surrounded Emma’s birth had come to him. But it did not give him the satisfaction that solving a riddle would normally do, it rather made him fear what was to come.

**”Nadad! These men seem to think that I need saving from my own marriage! I think they have gone mad or something, you have to send them away!”** His sister urged him, looking rather distressed.

But before Melo could answer Emma or say anything to lord Elrond, the elf, having grown impatient and insecure of his current position, took Emma’s arm. “You are not of age, and I have not given permission for this marriage, so you will come with me now!”

“Let go of me now! You have nothing to say about _my_ marriage!” She shrieked, struggling to get loose from his grip while Melo tried to step in between them, yelling profanities in his native tongue and Emma’s handmaidens started to scream.

“You are handling this quite badly, my dear Elrond.” Gandalf muttered, but it was too late.

“Emma, I am your father “ The oldest elf pleaded. “I do not wish this marriage for you!”

Emma, still wriggling to break free, looked at him for a small moment and then punched him on his nose. The sudden impact and the distinct sound of breaking cartilage made that Elrond let go of her and hold his bleeding nose. But Emma and Melo stared at him open mouthed for a moment, not completely registering what he just said yet.

“Guards!” Emma suddenly yelled as loud as she could once she got a grip on herself again, and the corridor was full of people within moments.

Guards closed in on the wizard and the elves, their swords drawn, while Fili and Kili came running from their chambers. Everyone was yelling at everyone now, causing one big chaos with Elrond, whom was still clutching his nose, and Emma, whom was looking utterly lost and confused, in the middle, while Galadriel observed the whole scene. But then a low, rumbling voice cut through all the others:

“Shazara!” Thorin yelled, and everyone immediately fell silent. Only focussed on his goal, he walked to Emma, roughly pushing everyone in his way, including the grey wizard.

“What is going on here, are you alright?” he asked while looking at her arm, which she was still rubbing after being released from Elrond’s grip.

She glanced at the visitors, her brother and all the other people in the corridor. “Lets discuss this inside, your highness.”

They walked in, accompanied by Emma’s handmaidens, and he closed the door. “Why is Elrond here, Emma?”

“You know him?! They came to the door, saying they want to take me away from here so I do not marry you, and saying that he is my father! I think that wizard of yours has gone utterly mad!” Her confusion had turned into anger, and somehow she partially blamed him for the situation; he should have taken better care of whom he allowed entrance, and he knew them, not her.

“Did they hurt you?” He asked, looking at her from top to bottom.

“He grabbed my arm, so I broke his nose.” She said angrily. “You should never have let them in!.”

“Go to your bedroom, I will handle this.” He grinned out, trying to hold back a chuckle that came up at the image of Emma breaking Elrond’s nose.

Emma did as he said, followed by her handmaidens, and Thorin walked to the doorway again. He knew a problem when he saw it, and this situation was like a mountaintroll staring him in the face while he was unarmed. He also knew when something could be settled with a sword, and when diplomacy was needed. One common elf could have been settled with a sword. Lady Galadriel and lord Elrond could not. He breathed in and out deeply before opening the door, and then swung it open. He looked at Elrond with his red and swollen nose, and couldn’t help letting out a small grin. But he quickly composed himself and jerked his head at Elrond, Galadriel and Melo.

“You has best come in. Fili. Get Balin.”

While his nephew ran off to fetch his chief advisor, the others followed him to Emma’s study, where they all took a seat and sat in silence for a while, all of them burdened heavily by the questions that were on their mind. Thorin looked at Melo. His soon-to-be brother in law did not look angry, contrary to what he would expect a brother to look when an elf came to his sister and said he was her father, but rather weary, tired and anxious. Elrond on the other hand looked exactly as he would have expected him to look: angry and pugnacious. He didn’t even bother looking at Galadriel; she looked the same as always: a smile that was supposed to look calm and assuring, but looked more like arrogance to Thorin. He knew this was going to be one terribly bothersome night, and he hadn’t even taken Emma into account.

He was pulled from his observations by Balin softly knocking the door and entering, taking a seat next to Thorin.

“Elrond, why don’t you explain why my betrothed thinks you want to take her away from here to stop the marriage and why you claim to be her father.” Thorin started the conversation sternly.

“I am her father, and I have not given permission for this marriage, nor do I wish it to take place.” The elf responded, looking as if he was affronted by being questioned.

“Do you have any proof of that, you being her father, I mean?” Thorin asked, ignoring the arrogance Elrond was exuding like a wave of perfume.

“I can easily supply you with it. If you wish so, I will bring her mother here.” Elrond said with a small shrug of his left shoulder.

Melo looked at Thorin and nodded very slightly and hesitantly, indicating to the king that Elrond was most likely telling the truth. He had always known there was something off about the stories he heard about the death of their mother, and looking back, there had been several signs that Emma wasn’t completely like other dwarves. Back then it didn’t mean anything, but now it was like pieces of a puzzle falling together. She had a completely different built, she could not stand being inside without daylight for too long and she enjoyed learning instead of dwarven things. With a gut-wrenching pain he remembered hw his father used her need for sunlight to punish her, locking her up in one of the cellars for days at an end.

At seeing Melo’s confirmation, Thorin rubbed his face with his hands and started to say something, But Melo cut in, determined not to let this situation get out of hand and ruin his sister’s future:

“Lord Elrond, Emma can not stand my father. Without exaggerating I can safely say she hates even the sight of him. But she had to live in the same palace as he did, her bedroom not five doors down from his. But for thirty years, she has managed to say no more than twenty words to him. Not per day, mind you, but over the whole thirty years. If you were to take her away from here against her will, what do you think will happen? I cannot imagine you want something similar happening to you, only to have her leave when she is of age, so I suggest you act reasonable and stop talking about rights and such. After all, for 63 years you have not made a claim and have not pronounced yourself her father. She isn’t even registered as your daughter, so by law the marriage contract that states that my father is also hers, is completely valid. So perhaps it would be better for all parties to see how we can best make this work.”

“And what do you suggest?” Elrond asks through gritted teeth, feeling like he was being cornered just when he was so close to his goal.

“It would all depend on king Thorin.” Melo said while glancing at Thorin. “If he still wants her as his wife, perhaps it would be possible for you to stay here for a while and get to know Emma. If you allow her to marry him, of course.”

While Melo was trying to hide his desperation over wanting his plan to work so his sister had a choice, Thorin rubbed his beard. He wanted her, needed her even. But he couldn’t forget he was a king. He also needed to produce heirs. Heirs that were acceptable to his subjects. He heard the stern voice of his grandfather in his head, telling him how it is the greatest responsability of rulers to produce children so the royal line would not be broken. He looked at Balin, whom looked back at him with the same questioning expression on his face.

>”I do not know enough about this subject to make an educated guess.”<  The old dwarf muttered.

He had read Thorin’s mind, had seen his doubts, but could not help him. Thorin sighed again.

>”Perhaps we should ask Elrond. We know a dwarf and an elf can have a child, Emma is the living proof of that. But we don’t know when, as we don’t know how fast elves or half-elves mature. You do not have a hundrerd years to wait untill she is able to have a child.<” Balin continued.

After a moment of doubt, hesitation over involving Elrond in his doubts, he nodded.

“We would need a little more information to assess the situation.” Balin said, doubt over the viability of this whole deal beaming off him.

While hearing the conversation between Thorin and Balin, a cloud fell over Melo’s face. This whole thing had the potential of ending Emma’s marriage before it had even begun. He just didn’t know if he should be happy about that or not. He knew his sister had had feelings for Thorin in the past, but they seem to have radically changed. They spoke openly about a lot of things, but her feelings towards Thorin was one of the very few things she kept to herself, so he has no solid clue if it had been a romantic notion of a teenager dazzled by a handsome prince or if it had been more than that. But he wanted her to have a choice, to be able to have a say in her own life.

“We need to know whether a union between Thorin and Emma could blossom in a short term.” Balin continued.

“You want to know if my daughter, whom I do not wish to see married, can have his children, or he won’t marry her?!” Elrond fumed.

Balin drew back a bit; appearantely this elf was a lot more direct than he had expected, though it had not seemed like that when they visited Rivendel. “I believe cooperation is the best way to go to keep all parties happy. Melo has made it quite clear that if you stop this marriage, Emma will not talk as much as one more word to you. And I personally believe that she will also blame you if Thorin decides not to go through with it.” He said more bravely than he felt.

 “It would depend on whether she has come of age yet. Physically.” Elrond grumbled, knowing he had very little choice, based on the reaction he had gotten from Emma not ten minutes earlier.

All now looked at Melo. “Well?” Balin said impatiently.

“You do realise you are speaking of my sister, right?!”

“So you do not know?” Balin asked, a bit curtly due to the time of night.

“Off course I do not know!”

Balin got up and opened the door to the antechamber. He stuck his head around it and ordered one of the servants to bring Emma to the study.

A moment later she entered, looking at the people in the room, but deliberately not at Elrond and Galadriel or the other two elves that looked suspiciously like Elrond.

**”Namad, they need to know if….eeeeerm….if you…..eeeerm…”**

Balin’s patience was completely worn out. He has had enough of this whole thing. He got that Thorin wanted Emma, but the difficulty it was creating was out of bounds. Not to mention the money Thorin was spending on all of it. He wanted to go to bed; the time that he could drink all night or go days without sleep had passed. He was old and did not have an unlimited amount of time to spend on these things, so he cut in.

“We need to know whether  you are physically an adult yet.”

“Am I what?!” She blurted out, unable to believe these questions were actually being asked.

“Have your bleeds started yet? Is your body able to have children?”

Although most of her expression was hidden under her vail, it was clear to all that Emma’s face was a mixture between confusion and anger, flushing bright red. And that was exactly what she was feeling. Somehow a conversation to get rid of a mad elf had turned into a discusion about her being able to have children. Which meant that her ability to be a good queen was being discussed. Which meant her marriage, that was supposed to be happening tomorrow, was uncertain. Although she did not admit it to anyone, Thorin the least, she did want to marry him, deep inside somewhere. And now this elf was ruining it, and embarrassing her in the process.

**”Really, nadad? I am being diminished to a producer of heirs?! The elf is completely coockoo, get him out of here, tell them I am a dwarf and get this over with!”** She yelled at Melo while pointing at Elrond, and she started to go back to her bedroom, only to be stopped by her brother.

**”Have a seat, namad.”** He said calmly, but with an authoritative tone.

**”I do not need to have a seat!”**She yelled again while turning back to him and pointing at him. “I need you to fix this!”**

**”Sit.”** his command was spoken in a friendly manner, but she knew it was a command nonetheless, so she sat down in a chair as far away from Elrond as possible. The elf lord himself observed the conversation between his daughter and her brother. He found it quite odd that she so suddenly sat down, presumably doing what her brother told her to do, when she was still angry and clearly wanting to leave.

Melo knew they were being observed by everyone in the room and that the elves outside were probably listening in, but he also knew he could not do this to her with everyone watching them; it was embarrassing enough as it was and Emma bursting out like an angry explosion was very likely.

“If you would please give my sister some privacy, I will call you back when our conversation is done.” He said.

Everyone got up, glad to be able to skip this no doubt embarrasing moment. When the room had cleared, Melo started again in an appeasing voice:

**”Listen. If you are able to have children, I think everything can go ahead as it was planned. I will make sure the elf doesn’t bother you too much, and in a couple of months, this will all be forgotten.”**

Emma chewed on the inside of her cheek, trying to keep herself from either lashing out in anger or bursting out in tears.

**”Tell me, Emma.”** her brother urged

**”Yes.”** She answered while looking away from him.

**”Yes what?”**

Embarrassment was definitely taking the upper hand now, and she felt a blush creeping up her neck and cheeks.

**”Yes I can have children. Now can I leave?”**

**”Since long?”**

**”What?”**

Now Melo was also turning red, highly uncomfortable with having this conversation with his sister.

**”Have you…eeeeh…been able to..eeeerm..you know…since long?”**

She looked away again, fixating on some pattern in the rich carpet that lay on the floor. **”Three months.”**

**”Three months?!”** Melo fell silent for a moment, rethinking the sanity of letting Thorin marry Emma, since she had only so recently became physically adult. He did not think it had crossed anyone’s mind before, as girls usually started their bleeds around their twentieth year. He sighed. If Emma was this late, it was just another sign she was not completely dwarven; everyone knew elves took a long time to grow up. **”Are you sure you want to do this, Emma? I mean, perhaps it would be better to wait a couple of years or something…”**

**”You were supposed to get rid of the mad elf, and now I have to discuss my private affairs and you doubt my marriage?! I have had enough of this, I’m going back to my room!”** She bit out

She wanted to get up, but Melo gently took her arm. **”Wait, namad, has anyone..eeeh….explained you what to expect?”**

**”Expect from what?”**

He sighed. She might know a lot about a lot, but in this she seemed to be quite innocent. **”From..eeeh. the wedding night.”**

He had not believed it was possible for her to turn even redder, but he now saw it was very much possible as she stood uo and wrestled her arm from his grip. **”We are _not_ discussing this.”** She hissed out, and she walked to the door to leave.

**”Go to your room then, but don’t go to sleep yet, I’ll come by later. And don’t worry, I’ll fix this.”**

Emma left the room, passing everyone waiting outside quickly and without looking at them. Even when Thorin looked at her questionningly, wanting to know what her brother said to her, she just closed the bedroomdoor while Melo called the others back in.

“There is no impediment in that area, though that is recent.” Melo said to Balin.

“Then I think we can come to the conclusion that having this wedding is in all our best interests.”

Elrond cleared his throat, demanding the attention.  “I do have some conditions. She will have an elf accompanying her, always, and she will spend at least an hour per day with me, learning about the elven way.”

Melo looked at Thorin, whom nodded. “That is fine, but you will have to follow Emma’s schedule and not interfere with state business, and she has a say in what she will learn. And you will mind the royal etiquette.”

Elrond agreed, and Melo got up. “I’ll ask Emma if she can agree with this.”

After softly knocking of the door, he entered his sisters bedroom.

**”Emma, are you here?”**

**”Nadad.”** the way she called him brother was not a question, nor a warning, but a bit more like an ascertation; simply stating the facts and therewith judging Elrond’s claims to be worthless.

**”We have talked. Everything can go ahead as arranged if you agree to spend an hour a day with Elrond, learning about the elven way, and always have an elf escorting you.”**

Emma crossed her arms and frowned her brows. **”You have gone utterly mad, nadad! I do not care what he or father or anyone else has told you, I refuse to believe it. And I am certainly not spending my time with him!”**

**”Come on, you can choose what you want to learn or do. And you will have an escort all the time anyway, so what does it matter if one of them is an elf?”**

She put her hands in her sides and shook her head. **”No.”**

**”Namad, if you don’t agree, your marriage with Thorin will probably not go ahead and there is a fairly large chance Elrond will take you with him to Rivendel.”**

**”None of that will happen and I will not spend any time with him!”** Emma stated, coming close to stumping her foot on the ground like a petulant child.

Melo sighed and went back to the study. She knew the consequences of her decisions, and he would leave it to her. If his father got upset with it, he would just tell him Thorin backed out because of Emma’s lineage.

“She does not want it, and I’m not going to make her, sorry Thorin.”

“Then you sign for her.”

“That’s basically the same as forcing her. I’m not doing it. Get my father if you want someone forcing her to do this, or call Sindor back, but it won’t be me.”

They sat in silence for a while, untill Thorin yelled at Emma to come and join them. But he did not get an answer, and yelled her name again. One of her handmaidens came into the study.

“I am sorry, your highness, but she can not join you at this moment.” She said while looking at her feet, obviously afraid to incur the famous wrath of the king of Erebor.

“And why may that be?”

Jalila started blushing. “She..eeeh…” Jalila looked around as if to find someone that could help her. “She may have left the bedroom through the passageways.”

Thorin got up. “Where did she go?”

“I don’t know, my lord, but she changed into her training clothes.”

**“SHIT!”** Melo cursed, and then turned to Thorin. “Where could she have gone?”

But Thorin’s answer was interrupted by Elrond, who turned to Melo: “You have told her to leave!” he hissed at him.

“Stay calm! There is no use in telling Emma to leave, as I can not marry her now without additional permission anyway.” Thorin said. “We’ll look for her together, but I think I know where she is. Come on.”

They got up up and left Emma’s chambers, Thorin ordering a couple of guards to follow them, as did Elrond. They left Erebor trough the front gate, going up the path that Emma took when she went running in the morning, lighting their way with lanterns. Half and hour later, the plateau came into view and suddenly Elrond took off, running up the mountain. For a moment Thorin and Melo wanted to follow him, but even after a few meters they knew it would be impossible to keep up with the elf. Dwarves were more for short distance sprints.

When they finally arrived, panting with exertion, they stopped abruptly at the scene they saw in front of them.

Elrond stood rod straight, not moving a muscle. The reason for that was the long dagger Emma held to his throat. She stared at him intensely, her arm holding the dagger stretched out. Her exact emotion were unknown to Thorin, but Melo knew what it was. In the rare case his sister resorted to violence, it was in a situation she could not get out of in any other way. Right now, her frustration, shock and denial was clear in her dark eyes. They shone with both sadnes and anger in the pale moonlight, and Melo carefully stepped forward.

From his new position, he could clearly see Elrond. The elf looked at his new found daughter with both resignation to whatever she wanted to do and and a care Melo had never seen on anyone’s face.

**”Namadith”** he started softly. **”This will not fix it.”**

She did not look at him, nor did she respond, keeping her gaze on Elrond. Even though she wore one of her loose veils, he could see the tensed set of her jaw, and from experience he knew her upper lip was slightly curled up, ready to either snarl up in anger or start to tremble with upcoming tears.

Thorin and his guards were still standing on the edge of the plateau, not nearing the scene but looking and listening intendly.

**”Come sit with me, and we’ll talk this through.”**

With a hiss of contempt Emma threw the dagger on the ground and sat down on the bench Melo had gestured at. From the corner of her eye she saw Melo sending Elrond to stay with Thorin, but she paid no attention to it; it was no use, it was all futile. Instead, she stared up at the star filled sky.

**”What is it you see in them, namadith? I never understood.” **

Melo saw his sister swallowing thickly before a tear left her eye and rolled onto her veil. He waved at the people looking at them to stand back even further, not wanting them to see her like this.

**”Dreams”** She said before letting out a sob.

He softly pulled the side of her head so she was leaning on his shoulder and pressed a kiss on her head. **”Thorin wants to talk to you, and I think you should. But always know that you do not have to do anything you don’t want. If you don’t like what is being offered, then don’t do it. I will take care of you no matter what.”** He smiled fondly at her. **”The world is at your feet, namadith. You can choose whatever you like.”**

**”Can you send _him_ away?”** she asked in a small voice that betrayed she already knew the answer.

**”No. Thorin can at some point, but no end date to the agreement has been settled upon.”**

After another few sobs Emma nodded and sat straight again. He looked at her and wiped away a few tears from under her eyes. He knew her bottom lip was trembling right now, and that she would need a moment to gather herself. So he sat next to her in silence untill he heard her take a deep breath. Only then did he get up and walked back to Thorin, jerking his head at him in a signal he could talk to her.

“I though you normally train in the morning.” Thorin said when he was standing next to her.

She did not look at him, but kept staring to the sky. “Normally I do, your highness.” She said, her voice still a bit small from the held in tears.

“Any specific reason you have chosen this time of night to go running and do some sword practice?” he asked dryly, making an effort to not let her know he knew she was almost crying. If the matter wasn’t so serious, he would have found it quite amusing to see her hold an elf at swordtip. In the current situation however, he could understand her urge, but it would be a rather large diplomatic incident if she actually killed the elf, to say the least.

“None whatsoever, your highness. Would there be anything else or did you bring half of Erebor here to enquire after my training habits?”

He sat down next to his betrothed and looked at her seriously.

“Tell me what you want, Emma.”

“Whatever pleases you, pleases me, you highness.” She said in a repetition of the last week.

“By Mahal, would you stop being so sarcastically polite and just tell me what you want!” he uttered loudly.

It was silent between them for a moment, him taken back by his own outburst, her a little surprised.

“Sorry.” He said. “I did not mean to be so harsh. But for the time you have been here, you did not give your opinion about any of the important decision that had to made, regarding your life, I may add. So what do you want? I don’t suppose you want to go to Rivendell?”

“No.”

“Do you want to go back with Melo?”

“No.”

“Can Elrond stay here then?”

“No.”

With every ‘no’ her tone became more and more grudging, and he sighed deeply. “You can not say no to everything, Emma. If you do, Elrond will deny approval of the marriage, and I am not going to take the risk of marrying you possibly without approval from your father.So what do you want?”

She stayed quiet for a long while, looking at the stars again. “I want this to never have happened. I want them to leave and never come back and everyone forgetting they were ever here.”

His heart broke a little, as she asked for something he was unable to give her. Naive notions in a harsh world, and he hated being the one to break it to her.  He leaned in closer, and put a hand on her veiled cheek.  But when a loud cough betrayed that Melo was watching them and he did not approve of the contact, he took it away and held her hand instead. It irked a bit, being told off like a seventeen year old for what felt like the hundrerth time, but he brushed the feeling off for the moment. “That, I cannot. The only way for us to marry is if you spend an hour a day with him. Can you do that?”

No reply came, nor did she let him know she had heard him.

“Or do you not want to marry me?” he asked, softly tugging her hand, but she remained silent.

“Tell me.” He urged her. “Do you, or do you not want to marry me?”

Finally, she tore her gaze away from the sky. “Fine. Let them stay here then.” She said, and she got up.

When she stood, he saw her transform from the insecure, unhappy girl that had been confronted with things she did not want nor need in the unreachable princess; her back was straight and her shoulders were pulled back while she held her head a little up and her eyes had turned darker and harder. He chuckled on the inside, it was all just an attitute, a mask that she used to hide her true self from the world. But he had to admit, as he saw her walk past the man that claimed to be her father, his sons, the guards and her brother, that she did it well. None dared stop her or talk to her, but they stepped aside to let her pass and followed her.

While they walked back, Melo went to walk next to Thorin. “Please remember my sister’s age and maturity, Thorin. Not only tomorrow, but also after.” His tone could be described as pleasant, but the king of Erebor recognized the undertone of a brother protecting his sister; he had been in the same situation once.

So he nodded, and they continued the walk down in silence. When they reached the entrance of Erebor, Emma turned to Melo.

**”You sign for it.”** She said with a small smirk and she kept walking, not even looking back to see if he heard her, and without any care for the elf lord proclaiming to be her father.

Melo closed his eyes for a moment, and then said: **”I can still take you away from here, from everything, if you want. No matter what promisses you made, I will take care of it. You can still have the world if you want.”**

She stopped and looked back, with a sad smile that none could see, but he knew it was there. **”No, you can’t and I don’t think I want to. Goodnight Melo.”**


	10. Marriage I

She looked at hersef in the mirror. Or rather, the outline of what she supposed was her, covered in metres and metres of silk and lace. She could not understand how she had gotten here, her teenage dream now a nightmare. She somehow wanted to scream, to run away and never look back. But her dress made it impossible to breathe, let alone scream, and it would not allow her to go any faster than slow, carefull steps. She would not be able to run, and as Thorin would lift up her veil in just a few moments, she would not be able to hide either. Everyone would look at her and not only see her veil, but actually see _her_.

Emma felt like she was wrapped in a cocoon that was becoming tighter and tighter, and from which she was unable to escape. She looked at herself again and wondered if anything was going to change, or if she would just get someone else that would restrict her like her dress was doing now.

 

X-O-X-O

 

Last night, Thorin had been relieved that Emma did not tell him that she didn’t want to marry him, completely ignoring the fact that she did not say she wanted to either. But in this moment he found himself standing on the dais, his face blank and his hands clasped behind his back, waiting for his bride, and he wondered for the first time if this marriage was completely insane, and whether he was doing  the right by going ahead with it. Not that he did not want her as his wife, he wanted her more than anything in the world, but he was afraid he could never make her happy and their marriage would be one solely for the purpose of having an heir, cold and lifeless beyond that.

However, nothing could be done about it anymore now, as the doors opened and Emma was escorted to the dais by Melo. She was dressed in a rather tight fitting, silk dress with a long train. Around her middle was a belt made of white gold, completely covered with thousands of sparkling diamonds, accentuating her tiny waist. The thick, lace vail that was flowing over her crowned head was almost as long as her train in the back while it covered her untill half way down her belly in the front. Thorin could only barely hold back an audible gasp, mesmerized by her; his doubts forgotten.

When Melo put her hand in his, his face doubtfull and looking at her for any sign he should be taking her away, Thorin could feel her slim fingers tremble, a sign of nervousness that her posture did not betray. He tried to look at her, make her feel like she had nothing to fear, but the lace hid her eyes.

Balin led the ceremony, and when the vows were made, hers in a small voice that barely reached the first three rows of guests, he proclaimed them husband and wife and her tiara was replaced by a mythril crown as a sign she was queen. Thorin lifted her vail back, and he was left breathless for a moment as he looked upon her beautiful face. Besides from the dark, deer-like big eyes he had already seen and that were now avoiding looking back at him, she had a perfect nose and full lips that reminded him of rosebuds. He composed himself and pressed a soft kiss on them, which led to cheering from the crowd. Then, they proceeded to the great hall where a banquet was served for all the guests. He did not really see nor taste it; all he could think of was how she had stiffened when he kissed her.

 

X-O-X-O

 

Elrond had been equally mesmerized from the moment Thorin lifted Emma’s vail. He had not layn eyes upon his own daughter’s face before that moment, and he could not believe how the best of Eliana and him could be united so beautifully in a living creature.  Last night, the tip of the sword on his throat had been the least of his interests, as her glaring at him had made it possible for him to stare back.  Her eyes had shown so many emotions, that he had been unable to make out individual ones. But now that he could see the rest of her face, they became clearer. The set of her mouth and the way small dimples appeared as she gave what was no doubt a fake polite smile,  showed how nervous and uncomfortable she was, perhaps even more than last night.

He looked at the rest of her. Her hair had his color, but the soft curls and the end were most certainly her mother’s, as were her lips and eyes. But the bone structure in her face, that was his’. He could have gone on for hours, trying to determine which pieces of her were his, and which Eliana’s, but then everyone got up and followed Thorin and Emma, forming a line to congratiolate them.

He offered Galadriel his arm, and together with his sons and Gandalf they joined the line. But when it was their turn, Emma looked past them with a mixture of stubborness and sadness in her far-away gaze. She did not even want to look at him, Elrond thought while mindlessly murmering his well wishes to Thorin. If only he had gotten Eliana away from her husband before she gave birth. If only he had gone back to get his daughter. Then he would not be standing here now, marveling at the sight of his daughter’s face and a mere spectator to her marriage instead of the one giving her away and leading the ceremony. If only.

X-O-X-O

 

As everyone ate and feasted, Thorin sat next to Emma in a strained silence, thinking of what to say. He had not heard a word from her directed to him after the vows, not even during their dance, and she only spoke a few brief words to her brother. Her anger seemed to have dissipated, its place taken by a much more worrying sadness.

He wanted to ask her how she was, how she really felt, but he couldn’t find the right words. All he could come up with was:  “You look incredibly pretty.”

“Thank you, your highness.” His wife said softly, still staring at her plate.

“Your dress is also very nice. The seemstresses must have worked very hard to have it finished within such a short amount of time.” Inwardly he hit himself on the back of the head. He was Thorin Oakenshield, and he was never, ever out of words. Yet now, sitting next to the woman he had been wanting as a wife since forever, all he could come up with were the bland platitudes of a man desperate to charm a woman.

“I think they have, your highness.”

He wanted to say something else, something meaningful, but was interupted by Dis, leaning over the side of his chair and softy saying:  “Thorin, may I have a moment?”

“Yes?”

“Not here, come with me.”

He followed her to one of the chambers adjoining the hall, looking back at Emma several times. It chafed terribly that she did not look to see where he was going.  

“I wanted to have this talk earlier, but as I only arrived this morning, I did not have the chance. But Fili and Kili wrote to me that your bride is not exactly warming up to you yet.”

He wanted to ask her why in Mahal’s name she thought this was her business, but he knew from experience that was not the way to go. Best just go along and hope for the best. “I expect that will improve as we go along.” He said stiffly.

“It doesn’t look like it, Thorin. So perhaps you should consider not consumating the marriage yet. Taking her virginity without her even liking you is something she might find hard to forgive, as she is probably not ready for it yet.”

His sister’s words were right on the sore spot, as it confirmed clearly that Emma did not seem happy. But with his sister he couldn’t just tell her to shut up and leave, so he started to sputter.“Not ready? Which bride is ever ready?! And you know as well as I do that proof that the marriage is consumated has to be given to the counsel.”

“Proof that can easily be forged. Think about it, nadad, I am only trying to give you advice.”

“I know and thank you for it. Now, I am tired and I am going to retire. I trust that you will make sure that your sons don’t shame Erebor?”

Dis snorted, knowing that Fili and Kili were even more uncontrolable when they drank. Thorin sat on his throne and turned to Emma.

“Shall we retire now?”


	11. Marriage II

Thorin announced their departure to the guests and urged them to keep feasting, something they no doubt would do given the number of barrels of ale that were still available to the wedding party. Jalila escorted Emma to Thorin’s room while Elrond’s sons followed them unconspicuously.  They stood outside the apartment while Emma and Jalila walked to the bedroom where Jalila took off Emma’s dress and put her in a long, white evening robe. Thorin had disappeared into his study, giving them a moment to get ready.

**”Emma, will you be alright?”** Jalila asked, looked at her queen and friend with worry etched on her face, holding Emma’s trembling hands tightly.

**”I probably will. I doubt he will kill me.”** Emma scoffed, trying to sound more brave than she felt.

But Jalila didn’t buy her act**”You know what I mean.”** She said, turning Emma’s chin towards her.

But Emma jerked her head out of the soft grip. **”I will get over it.”**

**”Alright, I will leave you then, I think I hear him coming.” Jalila conceded. “Please send a servant for us whenever you need us. Our rooms will be made ready during your honeymoon, so tonight we will not yet be in the next apartment, but I believe there is a servant outside of your chamber whom you can send for us.”**

**”Thank you Jalila.”**

And then the handmaiden took her leave, leaving Emma all alone in the room while she heard Thorin approaching, the sound of his heavy boots on the stone floor echooing through the antechamber. She got into the bed with her back to what she presumed was his side and pulled the covers over herself just before he entered the bedroom and closed the door. She was glad that the room was only sparely lit, so she did not have to see how he looked at her. He took off his clothes, only leaving his undergarments on and lied next to her on the bed.

“Did you have a nice day, Emma?” he asked while pushing his arm onder his head.

She did not know what to say, so she fell back on the polite obedience she had used before. “I did if you did, your highness.”

“And are you happy with our marriage?”

“I am if you are, your highness.”

He had seen how she pulled up the blankets to cover herself and he now noticed the small tremble in her voice, and he had no idea how to handle this. The girls he had known, and those he had heard stories about from his friends, had all been eager and willing, but Emma did not seem so enthusiastic.

He softly ran his hand through her hair, hoping to calm her a bit. “We, eeeh, we don’t have to do this tonight, you know. We could just put, eeh, something on the sheets as proof.” He said in a low voice, not knowing what elso to offer her. If nothing else, perhaps it would give her the feeling she had some sort of control over this.

Emma said nothing, afraid that if she spoke, he would know how scared she was, how vulnerable she felt and how insecure she was. Even though he said the decision was up tot her, she felt pressured. Pressured by the situation, by the implictions and by expectations. Pressured into doing something she did not think she wanted to do, in a situation she did not ask for.

Thorin stroked her cheek, but she was afraid to look at him. She didn’t want to make this decision; she wanted him to make it, preferably in her favor. It has been so easy, letting everyone around her decide everything for her. She did not have to think for herself, she could not be held accountable and the responsability for all those decisions lied on someone elses shoulders. But now she found the ease had gone, yet somehow she did not have the strength to do something about it, as if she had lost it by not using it.

“We could wait untill you feel more comfortable with me.” He said again, and she presumed he was as hesitant as she was about making this decision.

“If that is what you wish, your highness, then that is what we shall do.” She managed to squeeze out in a small voice.

“Look at me, Emma.” He urged her, but she did not, instead, she kept staring at the wealthily decorated canopy hanging over his bed. Their bed now. The bed she was supposed to share with her husband from now on, doing Mahal knows what.

“Look at me.  He gently urged again, and she did, although her eyes did not meet his. “Set the pace for me, tell me if I go to fast.”

“I—I don’t know---“

His calloussed thumb stroked over her bottom lip. “I know.” He said, though she did not know whether he meant that he knew what to do or he meant that he knew how she felt. It did not matter when he kissed her, seeking entrance to her mouth with an unpatient tongue.

He felt his desire buring inside of him, and he had to hold himself back from taking her immediately. How he had waited for this moment, how he had waited to finally make her his. He only heard the whispers of the voice somewhere deep inside of him telling him that it would be better to wait, that she was not ready and did not fully consent. But as strong as the mind may be, the flesh was weak and he was powerless against his desire, could not hold ground against his lust. So he softly kissed her again, telling himself he would stop if she resisted, pulling the covers away from her and exploring her body with his hands.

With his big hands, Thorin carefully opened her robe. When he had taken away her blankets she had already felt exposed, but now, now that he could see all that should remain hidden, she felt completely and utterly vulnerable and on display. Emma tried to cover her chest, but when she wanted to bring up her arms to cover them, he halted her movements and put her arms next to her. He proceeded by opening her legs and sitting between them, making her feel only more ashamed.

Her perfect body only fueled the flame of lust inside of him, and he started kissing her nipples, rolling the little pearls between his tongue and his lips, cupping her breasts in his hands. Then, his mouth trailed down, over her belly and to her thighs, kissing along the way and nibbling at her skin a little bit, avoiding touching her sex just yet. He looked up at her face, and saw that she was staring at the canopy above the bed with an emotionless expression, so he lied next to her again, looking in her eyes.

 “Just tell me if you don’t want it yet. I would completely understand if you don’t.”

“It is fine, your highness. Do whatever you please.” She said in a small voice, gazing downwards.

“I only want to please you, but I don’t have the feeling you like what I do.”

“It is just new to me, that is all, your highness.”

“Are you sure that is all?”

She gave him a small nod, so he kissed her again, now stroking her body with his hand, slowly making his way to her sex. He started drawing circles around her clit, and to his satisfaction he felt that she was getting ready, her slit becoming slightly wet. Feeling her arousal, he couldn’t hold himself back anymore and took off the last piece of clothing, freeing his rockhard erection. He lied on top of her, resting on one elbow while positioning himself at her entrance.

“It might- it might hurt a bit. But it will be alright, it will only be once.” He breathlessly said.

“I know, your highness.” She replied, but her mind had wandered elsewhere from the moment he had started to rub her _down there_. Only undecent women and whores enjoyed what happened in the bedroom, her governess had told her, regretfully without elaborating further on the subject. But underneath the nervousness and shame, Emma had actually sort of liked the feeling of his brief touches. And then he took his underwear off and she saw what he had between his legs. It was not untill he lied down between her legs that she had started to understand what it was he wanted to do, and breathing had become nearly impossible. Certainly _that_ could not fit in _there_?!

And then, he wanted to enter her. But as she felt the pressure, she involuntarily dug her heels into the bed and tried to slide herself up towards the headboard, away from him. He put an arm around her waist, holding her still but also forcing her hips to tilt upwards a bit, and pushed again, this time slightly entering her. As he did, he felt she was resisting his intrusion. She tried to wriggle out from under him, and her inner muscles were clenched, which made it even greater for him but more painfull for her. As he pushed in further she cried out in pain, but he muffled the sound with a kiss, entering her mouth with his tongue and stroking the side of her face with his hand.

“Shhh, just relax, it will get easier.”

But she did not look at him, instead turning her head to the side. He kissed her now exposed neck and started to move slowly, the friction and her tightness sending gulfs of pleasure through his body almost immediately, causing him to groan from deep within his chest. As she silently prayed for it to be over soon, he started to move faster, untill he reached his climax and groaned out, his head in his neck. A few moments later he regained his senses and looked at her, shocked to learn she was crying.

“Mahal, are you alright?!” He uttered, seeing what he had caused, and he wiped her tears away and stroked her hair and face.

She nodded, but her face showed that she was in pain. He pulled out and lied next to her, still stroking her hair.

“I will get the servants to draw you a bath while they change the sheets.”

“No need to bother them with it, I shall do it myself, your highness.”  She said, and she walked to the bathroom.

When she got up, quickly pulling her night robe around her, she felt the burning and aching feeling inside of her, making it almost impossible to walk, and when she did, she felt, to her disgust, fluids dripping down her leg. But she did not want him to see, so she walked as straight as she could.

 

X-O-X-O

 

Meanwhile, Elladan and Elrohir, Elrond’s sons, had been standing outside of the royal chambers, cursing their elven hearing. The moment they heard her muffled cry, they started to feel uncomfortable, almost shifting at their feet. Their discomfort only grew hearing the sounds coming from the bedroom, inaudible to anyone that did not have their excellent hearing, and when they heard sobs coming from the bathroom and saw a servant coming out of the chambers holding what appeared to be a sheet with bloodstains, they look at eachother in distaste and then quickly walked back to hall where the wedding feast was still going on, orders to guard her or not. They saw their father talking to Gandalf, both of them looking rather serious, and sat next to him. Elrond looked at his sons.

~”Why are you not watching the royal chambers?”~

~” There is no point, as she can always get out through the passageways, and we do not wish to hear our sister during her wedding night.”~ Elladan said, barely disguising his disgust.

~”Excuse me?”~ Elrond uttered.

~”Who would want to hear their sister cry while her new husband has his way with her?!”~ Elrohir hissed.

Elrond wanted to jump up, but was held back by Gandalf. ~” Leave it to her, it is her choice. Things might not be as they seem.”~

~”If I see her to be unhappy tomorrow, I will tear up the contract and take her with me!”~ Elrond hissed at him, anger beaming from him.

~”I doubt you will see her tomorrow, or the rest of the week. They have their honeymoon now, and it is tradition that the newlywed couple does not leave their chambers for at least a week, often two weeks.”~ Gandalf chuckled. ~”It will be fine after that, you’ll see.”~

~”I have yet to see her smile, Gandalf. It is her weddingday, and no smile has left her lips all day. I should have  refused my consent yesterday. You told me she would be happy for us to come, that she would come with us.”~ His tone is uncaracteristically bitter, almost accusing.

~”I believed she would be, but what man has ever been able to claim knowledge about the workings of women. And I told you yesterday you were handeling things badly. How is it, my old friend, that after millenia of perfect restraint, you have let your emotions get the best of you?”~

Elrond grumbled a bit, but did not answer Gandalf.

~” Talk to her brother tomorrow. He will set your mind at ease, you’ll see.”~

 

X-O-X-O

 

Thorin took the sheets of the bed and handed them to the servant waiting outside the room, ordering him to bring them to the counsel. He had seen the amount of blood on them, and knew Emma had to be be in pain. As he closed the door, he walked to the bathroom. But when he stood at the door, he heard her crying. For a moment he hesitated, trying to decide if he should leave her alone or console her, but then he entered the bathroom, took his robe off and sat behind her in the bath. She was sitting with her legs pulled to her chest, her arms wrapped around them. When she heard him enter, she turned her back to him and tried to wipe away her tears, but they kept coming. For a split second, he looked at her, noticing the pale white scars scattered on her lower back, standing out clearly against the lightly tanned skin, and he struggled to hold back a gasp. But then he put his arms around her, trying to soothe her.

“I’m—I’m really sorry about this.” He whispered. “It was not exactly what I had planned.” And he pressed a kiss on the nape of her neck. “And certainly not what you deserved.”

He felt her body shaking against his by the long sobs she could not hold back. He knew this was not just physical pain caused by what just happened, but an accumulation of circumstances, yet he asked anyway:

“Tell me what is wrong, are you in that much pain? Should I get a healer?”

But it was not just the pain that was causing her to be emotional. She had a tangible feeling of loss caused by him taking her virginity, something that she was always told was the only thing of value about her. On top of that, she felt a terrible shame about the whole thing, about him seeing her naked, about how she felt and the activities that followed. And then there was everything that happened between them on their journey, the way she was pressured into this marriage and some elf showing up at her door and claiming he was her father. Everything had caused one big emotional turmoil inside of her, that she could not just push away like she normally did. But she could not tell him; she just could not share her feelings with him, so she said nothing and just shook her head. He pulled her close to him, holding her tight and softly kisses her neck again.

“It is me, Emma. Not king Thorin, not even Thorin Oakenshield, but me.”

The only response he got was a small sob that made her back tremble against his chest.

“It will be alright, azyungal.  If you do not want to, we will not do it untill you are ready. And I will try to be your One again.”

He felt her stiffen as he said it, and he let out a small chuckle, after which he took a cloth laying next to the tub, wrung it in the foamy water and slowly started to rub it over her right arm.

“I always wanted to go to your father’s estate, so I would be able to see you again. I enjoyed your company so, you brought light to my life. I think it must have driven your father mad, him being inspected so often, but I could not help myself, I had to see you.”

There was a silence, but he let it linger as he switched to washing her left arm, patiently waiting for her to speak, to show her feelings that hid behind the mask of indifference and cold distance. “And then you stopped coming.”

“I had nothing to offer anymore. My kingdom and my position were gone; I was merely a blacksmith working for men.”

“I did not like you for your kingdom or your position, but for you.” Emma whispered.

He finally started to understand how deep her feelings of hurt ran, and he pressed another kiss in her neck and ran the cloth over her belly and breasts. “Will you like me again?”

“Too much has happened,  your highness.” Emma answered, trying to hide how uncomfortable she felt with him touching her breasts.

“I beg of you, just call me Thorin. Call me whatever you like in public, but when we are in private, let us go back to a simpler time.” She said nothing, and let him continue. “I know I can’t change what happened, but I will do anything I can to make you feel happy again. So tell me, what can I do, I am at your command.”

She sighed. “What do you want from me?”

He smiled and bent to his side to be able to reach her legs with the cloth. “I want us to be happy. I want us to have the marriage you imagined us to have when you were younger.”

“What do you know about what I wanted when I was younger?”

He chuckled. “I could see it on your face. And your younger brother showed me your diary once, filled with things like: ‘Mrs. Emma Durin’, ‘queen Emma of Erebor’ and ‘Emma, wife of Thorin’.

She turned around to him, her eyes opened wide, her mouth slightly opened and a red blush of shame on her cheeks. “He did what?!”

Thorin grinned as he saw the shock on Emma’s face and softly kissed her, wiping her tears away with his thumbs. “Relax. He tried to embarass you, but little did he know that it actualy made me very happy. I took you shopping after that, remember?”

Emma thought back on the sunny day that Thorin took her to the city and bought her a diamond hairpin. She knew it wasn’t a courting gift, but when she was alone, she pretended it was. A fainth smile appeared on her face.

“What are you thinking of?”  he asked as he tried to look in her eyes, but she looked at her hands.

“Nothing.”

He had reached the top of her tighs and started to wash away the remnants of their coupling. Taking care of not be too forcefull, he made small circles over her skin, untll he reached her entrance. When he ran the cloth over her slit, he felt his wrist being wrapped in an iron grip and he heard Emma hiss in what he supposed was pain. “It will only hurt to this degree once, Emma.” He said, and when she did not respond but did let go of his arm he rose a bit, kissing her hair. “Come on, let me take you to bed.”

He saw her face crumble just the tiniest bit, and understood what she thought he meant. “I-we will not do anything anymore untill you want me. I just want to hold you while we sleep.” He said and he got out of the bath, offering his hand to help her out. She hesitated for a second, but then took it.

In the bath, the water and foam had concealed her naked body, which was now fully on display as she got up. She tried to turn away from Thorin, uncomfortable with him looking at her. He pulled her close to him, and she felt his coarse chesthair against her breasts. She tried to look away, but he cupped her jaw and pushed it up so she is forced to look in his eyes.

“Don’t feel ashamed.”He said softly, and he picked her up and put her on a sofa in front of the fire where he started drying her off, meticulously rubbing every inch of her body with the towel. As he was done, himself being dried of by the heat of the fire, he picked her up again and lied her on the bed, snuggling next to her and pullings covers and furs over them, holding her in his arms.

Like that, they fell asleep. When Emma woke up the next morning, she felt his strong arms around her. Thorin felt her move and slowly woke, smiling as he saw her face.

“Goodmorning, azyungal, did you sleep well?”

She felt her face getting red as she remembered the night before, and she looked down. However, as she did, she realised she was looking at his naked body, and she quickly shifted her gaze, not knowing where to look now. He chuckled a bit as he saw her panic.

“Is something wrong?” he said with a slight grin.

“No, no, nothing wrong.” Emma squeeled out as she settled her eyes on the canopy, deciding that was the safest option.

“Would you like to have breakfast?”

Emma thought about it. Normally she would have already ran for an hour by now, and her inactivity caused her to not feel hungry in the slightest. But she knew it would be rude to refuse breakfast, so she just nodded.  

Thorin got up, put on a robe and stuck his head out of the door to ask one the the waiting servants to bring them breakfast.

“Eeeehm, what is the plan for today?” Emma asked him when he closed the door, hoping they would go do something and not sit in this room all day. She needed some fresh air and sun, but she had the feeling she would have little of either.

“The plan? Well, normally we are just supposed to stay in here for a week or two. You could get your mark today. Did you already think of the design and where you want it?”

Emma did think of it actually, long and hard. “I was thinking the Durin seal on the back of my neck, just below my hairline. But not too big.”

Thorin looked at her in surprise.

“You do not like it?’ she asked.

“It is not that. It’s just---unusual, that’s all. Normally women want something really big on a really visible place; so everyone knows they are from the house of Durin.”

She did not respond to his explanation, merely asked how long it would take.

“I think an half an hour or so, as it is really small.”

“And who will do it?”

“Dwalin will. He has a lot of experience with tattoos, did most of mine.”

She looked at his tattoos. They covered most of his upper arms and chest, accentuating the strong, hard muscles. From the images and runes, she could understand they commemorated the wars he had fought and the comrades that had fallen in them. Bad memories, etched forever into his skin. She wondered if anything that had happened during the journey or the following battle had been eternalised in ink yet, but she could not see. Her ponderings were disturbed when a servant knocked. She jumped up and quickly put on a robe before sitting at the table. Thorin opened the door and breakfast was served for them. They ate quietly for a while.

“The dresses you gifted me, can I choose which ones I want?”

Thorin looked up from his food. He knew she was restless, wanting something to do that kept her away from conversation she might not like. “Of course. I can send for the seemstress today. She will take your measurements and she has a book from which you can pick. Do you want me to make an appointment for your for this afternoon?”

“Yes.”

Thorin got up and stuck his head out of the door again, ordering the servant to bring the seemstress this afternoon, and then adding that he also had to go and get Dwalin.

“Put some clothes on then, azyungal,  Dwalin will be here shortly.”

Emma got up and picked out a dress. But as she looked at it, she realised that she had no idea how she could put it on by herself. She saw Thorin looking at her, and her cheeks turned red again. He still wasn’t completely used to how beautiful she looked, and those blushes only seemed to add to that.

“You have no idea how to put on your own clothes, do you?” He said with an undertone of amusement.

“I know how to put them on, I just can’t do it by myself.”

“Then why do you wear such contraptions? Would it not be far easier to just wear some trousers and a tunic?”

Emma knew he was mocking her, so she just stepped into the dress and pulled it up under her robe, then taking the robe off. She tried to pull the laces herself, leaning back and bending her arms as uch as possible. But she did not seem to have much luck.

Thorin got up and looked at the strings he was supposed to pull. It did not seem too complicated, so he just pulled the first one, evoking a moan from Emma.

“That would be a little too tight.” She said breathlessly.

“O. right. sorry.” He hurriedly said, adjusting the laces.

As he was finished he looked at his work. It seemed to look fine, but when Emma looked in the mirror, she frowned. Appearantly it was not quite up to her standard. Fortunately for Thorin, he would not have to do it again as there was a knock on the door.

“Enter.” Thorin said, and the door swung open with Dwalin sticking his head into the room.

“Everybody decent?” he asked with a devious smile, causing Emma to blush, again.

“Aye.” Thorin said. “Come in.”

“So I am to do the tattoo for the lass? What do you want Emma?” Dwalin asked her, but before she could answer, Thorin already spoke: “Just a small Durin seal in her nek, under the hairline.”

“How small?”

Thorin and Dwalin were now both looking at her. “The size of your thumbnail, I guess.” She said.

“Are you sure lass? Do you not want something bigger, something more visible?”

She shook her head.

“Alright, lie on the bed then. Did you ever have one before?”

She shook her head again.

“It’s just a bit annoying, but remember: you have to lie still.” He said as he took a needle and ink out of his pockets. Het put the needle in the fire first and then in the ink.

“Put your hair aside.”

She did, and he got to work. He was right, it was quite annoying, but not really painfull. After half an hour, Dwalin was done.

“Looks nice.” Thorin commented, peering at her neck. “But it is a bit small.”

“It is.” The two dwarves were looking at Emma’s neck with some disappointment in their eyes, but then Dwalin shrugged and left the room.

Emma wanted to say something, but there was another knock on the door.

“Enter.” Thorin said, his tone a bit downcast.

“The seemstress has arrived.” The servant announced.

“Let her in.” He sighed.

“I am going to take a bath or something while you pick your dresses, it’s not really my thing.”

The next two hours, Emma’s measurements were taken and she told the seemstress which dresses, fabrics and colors she wanted.

“How long before the first one is ready?”

“I will have it done within the day, your highness.”

“Thank you.”

The seemstress saw it as a dismissal and took her leave.

 

X-O-X-O

 

As he was lying in the warm water, the soft voices of Emma and the seemstress forming a nice background noise, he thought of how the past days had been. How wondered how on earth it was possible that those elves had gotten into his kingdom without being stopped by the guards. Perhaps they had not been paying enough attention, distracted by a cardgame or their drinks. Or perhaps  it was some odd elven magic. But whatever it was, the guilty guards would sorely regret letting those elves in.

He sighed and shifted a bit, leaning his head back on the edge of the tub. If only they had not come, or had come a day later; it would have changed a lot. He could just have sent them away, or let Emma decide without any pressure. Because this, this situation, this arrangement, it wasn’t her will that created it, it hadn’t been her choice. It was just the lesser of the evils.

He wondered if he was also just a lesser or evils to her. Perhaps he was better than that horrid father of her. _Stepfather_ he corrected himself, still not really used to her changed parentage. And perhaps he and Erebor were better than Elrond and Rivendel. But was he good enough? Certainly not after last night, not after being so inattentive to her. But he could be better. He could be a better husband than that, perhaps the husband that she wanted? He didn’t know.

With a groan he lifted himself from the bath and dried himself off.

 

X-O-X-O

 

 A little later Thorin came back into the room, wearing absolutely nothing.

“So, eeeh, what are we going to do now?’ she asked, quickly looking the other way.

“We are in a room together and we are not supposed to leave for another six days. Come here.” he said, as he patted on the bed.

Hesitantly she walked over to him and let him put her on her belly on the bed. As she was lying there, he took off her robe. She tried to hold on to it, but knew she could not make it too obvious that she did not want to.

“I told you we would not do it anymore until you want me, trust me.” And he started rubbing her back, relaxing her tensed muscles and making her fall into a relaxed slumber.

When she was completely relaxed, he moved on to her legs, starting with her calfs. Slowly his hands moved up, his thumbs touching the top inside of her thighs, but not further than that. It caused a small tingle of expectation between her legs, and she breathed in deeply, but his fingers did not go further up, which left her both disappointed and relieved. He then lied next to her, taking her in his arms and like that they fell asleep. It was the first time in a very long while that she slept completely at ease.


	12. Marriage III

“We need to talk.”

Elrond saw Melo sitting at the breakfast table, took his chance, and was now standing next to him, or towering over him rather. With a tired frown on his forehead, Melo sent his advisors, whom were sitting next to him and with whom he had hoped to discuss some business, away and Elrond took a seat in the emptied chair.

“I was hoping you might enlighten me a bit on dwarven culture. And perhaps tell me about Emma.”

Melo looked at the elf lord and scoffed. “You dishonored my mother and then came here to blackmail my sister into doing what you want and then you want me to _enlighten_ you?! Go talk to your trollop about dwarven culture.” He said with a jerk of his head, indicating the direction Elrond should be going.

With his words and with the defiant look on his features Melo dared Elrond to lose his patience again, to do or say something that would give him reason to start a fight. But the elf lord had learned from his mistakes.

So he smiled patiently and nodded slightly. “I am going to spend a lot of time with Emma. Do you not think it better for me to have some knowledge about her?”

Many things could be said about Melo, were said somethimes, but he was no fool. And more important: his sister’s welfare always came before almost everything else. And so he thought about Elrond’s words. Emma did not have the most easy of personalities, an unsurprising fact given the way she had had to grow up and the environment she had lived in. If Elrond did not take this into account, this whole ordeal would end up in a disaster, perhaps even cause war between the dwarves and the elves.

So grudgingly, with great reluctance and even greater unwllingness he said: “What do you want to know?”

Elrond smiled tentatively and Melo saw his tense shoulders relax a bit. “What is she like? I mean, what are her preferences, her dislikes, how is her personality and how was she as a child?”

Melo raised an eyebrow at the summing up of questions, and Elrond smiled again. “I ask too much. But tell me honestly, I did not see her smile all day yesterday, will Thorin bring her some happiness?”

Melo squinted his eyes in doubt. “That depends on many things, of which the most are unknown to me. So this question I can not answer.”

“Has she been happy? Did she get the life she wanted?” Elrond pressed, desprately wanting to know more.

“No.”

The smile faltered. “What do you mean, ‘no’?”

“Do you think my father was kind to the evidence of his unfaithful wife? With the absence of my mother, naturally Emma became the scapegoat.  If you wish to know more, ask her yourself, I am not here to publicese my sister’s secrets.”

“I have been informed she will not appear in public for the at least a week.” Elrond answered stiffly.

“Indeed, it is her honeymoon. For us dwarves, the week or first two weeks after the wedding are meant to get to know your partner better.”

“So Emma did not know Thorin before marrying him?”

“I meant more in a way of ‘away from others…” Melo put an emphasis on the last words, hoping Elrond would get the meaning.

“My sons have informed me she did not wish to get to know him in such a way.”

Confusion spread over Melo’s face. He suspected miscommunication, as he could not believe that Elrond’s sons were present in the room when….What a horrific subject to talk about, his sister during her honeymoon.

“I do not get what you mean.”

“They stood guard at the royal chambers and heard her cry last night.”

Not a miscommunication then…..

“Have you gone raving mad?!” Melo hissed.  “We’re not talking about this, she is my sister! I am sure that if he has behaved dishonorable, she will inform me. Now, if you don’t have any other questions?”

“But I do.” Elrond says sternly. “How is it that Thorin asked you to sign the agreement between us, but you refused?”

“Emma is my sister. At that moment, I was her nearest male relative present, so I could sign for her.”

Elrond interrupted him. “How could you sign for her? Because of her age?”

“No, because she is a woman.” Melo shrugged his shoulders, not understanding why Elrond didn’t get it.

“So?”

“Perhaps there is a cultural difference here, but female dwarves belong to their nearest male relative.”

“Belong to them? As in property?”

“A little more complicated, but basically like property, yes.”

“And why did you refuse?”

Irritation ebbed away from Melo’s face and was replaced by a softer expression. “Because she is my sister and I love her. I do things because they are best for her, not because I want it.”

“And her vail?”

“What about it?”

“She was vailed when I first saw her, but not anymore after her vows.”

“The vail is an old tradition. Before, all unmarried women, and some married ones, wore a vail when in public. When we were forced to have more dealings with other races, most women did not wear it anymore, because it set them apart. But my father wanted Emma to wear one. Thankfully, Thorin does not require that of his wife. So when they were married, he lifted her vail completely, indicating she doesn’t have to wear it anymore.”

A silence fell between the two men. Elrond stared at the wall, though he didn’t see the intricately engraved runes on it, consumed by his thoughts. He needed to know what he could do so he could get to know Emma, as, judging by the state of his nose two night before, she would make very little effort to get to know him. He wished Galadriel was here, she would know exactly what questions to ask to get her answers.

“Can you tell me what kind of person she is?”

Melo sighed, the elf was annoying him to no end, and he had to push his nails into the palms of his hands to remain calm. But he managed; he would get him back somehow.

“She has many great qualities, but most are not seen at first sight.” He paused a bit, unsure how to phrase his words. “Emma has known a lot of—rejection in her life, for lack of a better word. Or perhaps disappointment would suit better. Anyway, I am not a crafter of words like elves, and it does not really matter. What I mean to say is, that if you stay here and want to try to have some sort of a relationship with Emma, you will have to see it through. I will not have her face yet another let-down. Either leave now or make a true effort.”

“And will my effort bring me closer to her?” Elrond’s tone was void of any scepticism. After noticing the loving way Melo spoke about his sister, even thoug he strongly disagreed with the things he said about women being like property, he wanted to get to know Emma even more, if such a thing was possible.

“Be patient. Hard rock is not split in a day.”

“No, it isn’t.” Elrond agreed.

“She might warm up to you, or she might not. It all depends on how deep her hurts run and whether she feels you were being honest when you expressed your desire to get to know her.”

“Why would I not be honest about that?!”

“Because your timing is odd. For years you have not made yourself known as her father, kept our mother, whom we believed death, from us. But on the eve of her wedding to the most powerfull dwarvenking, you stand on her doorstep.”

Elrond did not know what to say. He knew his motives to be pure, but he also saw how his timing could be explained otherwise.

“We do need to speak about something else.” The elf lord said to Melo. “Your father has closed of hsi lands to elves, and you know what that means to the protective spells.”

Melo scoffed. “So that’s why you’re here. It’s not going to happen.” With that, he got up and walked away, disappearing into one of Erebor’s many corridors that were a maze to an outsider.

 

X-O-X-O

 

When Emma woke up, she noticed it was already dark, and her stomach rumbled a bit. But Thorin’s tight embrace felt so warm that she did not want to get up. However, her movements had woken him, and he pressed a kiss on top of her head while holding her closer, a need to hold and protect her overwhelming him.

“Do you want to eat?” he asked, his voice heavy with sleep.

“Maybe just something small.”

He got out of the bed, stuck his head around the door and ordered the servant to bring some dinner.

“Thorin?”

“Hmmm?”

“You’re—eeehm—not wearing any clothes.”

He looked down and saw that he was indeed naked. “I will put them on when he brings dinner.” He said as he got back into bed, pulling her back in his embrace.

Dinner must have been ready, because a mere ten minutes later, the servant knocked on the door. Thorin growled a bit, put on some breeches and took the serving tray into the room, not placing it on the table but on the bed.

“Dinner in bed?’  she asked.

He smiled and lied down again. “Yes. Dinner in bed.”

She picked at the food he served her, eating small bites, while he looked at her.

“Emma, how did you get those scars on your back?” he asked tentatively.

She stiffened and looked down, her fingers playing with a piece of bread.

“Are they from the battle?”

She shook her head. “You have seen how it was.” She whispered.

He put the tray aside and pulled her in his arms. “Your father?”

She jerked her head a bit, but said nothing, stiff in his embrace.

“I will never let anyone hurt you again, azyungal. I promise.” He whispered.

“I always forget they are there, I would rather not talk about it.”

He nodded and pressed a kiss on her head, holding her tightly, despite her unwillingness to let him do so.

He tried again over the next five days, but her answers, if any were given, were evasive. She was evenly mute about Elrond, and about the circumstances in which their marriage came to take place. He accepted it, as he did not wish to force her to do yet another thing she did not want to. So their conversation was limited to reminiscing about times long past and getting re-acquinted.

Slowly, very slowly, he got the feeling that perhaps this might work out, though she still hadn’t called him by his name yet, as he often woke up from sleep or a nap to find her curled up in his arms, sometimes with her back to his chest, sometimes snuggled into him with her head resting on his upper arm. It was in those moments that he believed he saw the real Emma again. Unhinderd by any walls, any defenses she had had to keep up for so long, she could be herself between these walls.

It was in one of those moments that she woke up and felt his arms, his hands resting on her chest and belly and his manhood pressed against her bottom. It had made her uncomfortable at first, his body touching hers in such a way. But not that morning. That morning it made her feel warm, both in her chest and down there.

He moved the hand that was resting on her belly a bit, and despite of what she knew about the feelings she should and should not have about it, she wished it would move down a bit. He must somehow have noticed her arousal and willingness, because he slowly started to kiss her neck. She pulled her hair away so it wasn’t in his way and brought her arm up to touch the back of his head. A soft gasp escaped her lips as his hand brushed over her nipple, causing it to erect a little.

His breathing became heavier, and she felt his member harden against her. He kissed her more passionately and pushed her on her back, devouring her lips before he took one of her nipples in his mouth while cupping and massaging her other breast with his hand. As he softly licked and bit the small pearl, the warm sensation of his tongue sent spikes of pleasure through her body, she arched her back a little, unable to hold herself back. He made a trail of kisses to her belly and then further. She lifted her head to look at him, but he just smiled at her, his eyes dark with lust, and when she felt his tongue touching her slit, she let out a keening noise before gathering her senses and crawling back.

“No” She said in an anguished, breathy moan, and when he looked at her face, he saw it crumple up as if she were in pain.

“Emma?’ He said questioningly, not knowing what exactly the problem was.

“You can’t” She whispered “I mean, I can’t—it isn’t—isn’t proper.”

He frowned, confusion spreading over his face. “What do you mean, Emma? Do you not like it?”

She just looked at him, eyes opened wide in fear, and then it came to him. He also crawled up the bed and sat next to her. He should have known she had been taught such notions; her father was a backwards bastard.

“What we do” he started in a soft tone “is something for us both to like, to enjoy. My enjoyment isn’t complete without yours.” She looked up at him, a very small frown line between her eyebrows. “it is nothing to be ashamed of. I _want_ you to enjoy, I _want_ you to tell what you like and don’t like.”

He ran his hand through her hair, smoothing back the strands that had fallen in front of her face. “There are no orders in our bed, despite of the feeling I might have given you. I do not tell you what to do here, it is something we must discover ourselves.”

She looked down at her hand. “But women who—“

“No” he interrupted her train of thought. “No, for it isn’t true. Old wives’ tales of those who have never known love.”

When he felt her relax slightly, he softly started to kiss her neck again, his hands trailing down to her nipples and rolling them between his fingers. “Do you like that, Emma?” He murmured, already knowing the answer from the reaction of her body.

She gave him a hesitant nod, and he brought his head down to lick them softly. “Do you think you are not supposed to like of if your body clearly tells you how good it feels?” He saw she made small shaking movements with her head, and decided that was good enough for him. He returned his lips to hers, and stroked his way down to the apex of her tighs, eliciting goose bumps on her belly on the way down.

He found her a little moist already, and ran his finger down her slit to wet them a bit. When he started to circle around her clit, she tilted her tighs up in a reflex, but then immediately stoped. He looked into her eyes. “Does that feel good, Emma?” he whispered, and she averted her eyes, a blush creeping up her cheekbones that clearly betrayed she did enjoy it.

He stoppped moving his fnger, and instead started kissing his way down her body to the point where he had so roughly been interrupted in his pleasurable task. And when he softly ran his tongue over the outside of her slit, he saw her letting her head fall back into the pillow in pleasure.

“Mahal, you have no idea what you do to me, Emma.” He practically moaned.

It was in that moment she started to think he might actually want her to have some pleasure from their coupling. She had not beleved him at first, thinking he was just saying it to placate her, to get her to want to be in bed with him. But the way he reacted to pleasuring her seemed so genuine, so real, that she could not think he was only saying it for her.

He put his hands around her hips and his tongue started to move around a sensitive place she did not even know she had before a couple of days ago. She whimpered as her pleasure hightened, opening her legs further for him. Even if she had wanted to, she could not hold herself back. She just wanted it, needed it, and as she felt a spike in pleasure coming, she moaned and griped the bedsheets, all her muscles clenching when she peaked.

With a small smile,  Thorin softly kissed her spot, causing her to whimper again, before he came to lie on top of her, leaning on his elbows, softly kissing her lips. She felt his hard member against her entrance, and he looked at her. He saw in her eyes that the pleasure was slowly being replaced by apprehension, and he stroked her cheek.

“It will not hurt like the first time, azyungal, but we don’t have to. We can wait untill you want it as well.”

She shook her head, she knew what her duty was and what was expected, so she opened her legs a little further as a sign she did not want to wait. It was tempting of course, stopping now, but sooner or later they would have to do it again, and dragging it out would not make it easier. Yet when she felt his blunt tip nudging at her opening she choked and grabbed his hand tightly, her other hand clenching his shoulder.

“Try to relax your muscles, azyungal.” He whispered in encouragement, and then pressed a lttle further, pausing when the head was in. Her hand clenched his and he looked at her.

“Just try to relax azyungal, and tell me when you are ready for me to move.”

After a few seconds, in which he felt her walls flutter in an attempt to relax, she nodded, and he pressed a little further and then pulled back, repeating the movement untill he was fully sheathed inside of her. “Does this hurt, Emma?” he asked, and when she shook her head in denial, he pecked a small kiss on her lips. “You’re doing so well, Emma.”

When he felt the tension seeping away a bit he started to move, slowly but deliberately. Emma noticed the feeling was very different from the first time. It did not hurt that much anymore, but instead, made her feel warm and wanting more. But then there was a knock on the door and she tensed up again, her tighs pressing hard into his legs and her hand nearly crushing his.

“Your highness…”

“Go away!” Thorin said as he leaned on his elbows and looked sideways at the door.

“But your highness…”

“GO AWAY!” He bellowed.

It must have worked, because they heard nothing anymore. He looked at her again.

“Are you alright?”

Emma nodded uncertainly.

He passionately kissed her and started moving again, harder now, and then he hit another spot she was unaware of she had. The hand on his shoulder thightened, and she softly moaned his name. Her eyebrows shot up, quickly followed by a small frown.“Thorin?’ She whispered, as if she was surprised by the feeling, didn’t know what to do with it. He looked at her as he kept moving in exactly the same way, evoking more gasps from her. He took one of her nipples in his mouth, sucking and softly nibbling at it.

Her pleasure hightened again and she clung to him with her hand around his neck, though he did not know whether it came from want or from uncertainty.. Yet she did not seem able to reach what was just a hair’s breadth away, and she uttered his name as if he was the only thing that could save her from drowing.

“Just let go, azyungal, you can do it. Just let go.” He murmured, and it felt as if the deep baritone of his voice was the one last thing she needed. “Just let go for me, you’re doing so well.”

He quickened his pace and a gulf of pleasure flowed over her, completely taking her over, erasing everything but what she was feeling and the praises he whispered in her ear, making her softly moan out his name in such a needy way that all he wanted was to fuck her harder and deeper untill she screamed out in pleasure

 

X-O-X-O

 

They all heard the creaking noises coming from the bedroom, and with growing horror Melo realised what they were. It was his sister. It was his sister being _fucked_ by her husband. It was the stuff of nightmares. He clenched and unclenched his jaw and fists, trying to remain calm, but it did not work.

Balin was getting anxious, looking around and thinking of something he could do. He had somehow forgotten about the doors to the king’s bedroom. They had always been there, and had survived a dragon and decades of disuse. But they still served their function. Before, they were used as a means to make sure that the king and queen made a good enough effort to procreate. The servants heard, or didn’t hear anything, and reported it back to the king’s chief advisor. Either that custom had gotten out of use as no one came to tell him anything, or nothing had happened yet after the weddingnight. Either way, Balin decided he would order to put new doors in Thorin’s bedroom. The last thing he wanted was to be informed of every time Thorin and Emma consumated their marriage. He shuddered at the thought.

“You asked me to come here to listen to _this_?!” Melo hissed at the old wizard that had not been able to take no for an answer, but he got no response, only an apologetic shrug.

His repulsion turned into a growing need to hurt someone, to throw around furniture and swing his sword at all present. But that would mean his sister would know they were here, and he wanted to spare her at least the knowledge of it.

So he turned his attention to the one person in the room he could force to feel pain without even getting up or raising his voice. The one person that absolutely and completely deserved to be in agony.

>”Are you married to him?”<  He asked his long lost mother.

Surprised by his question, which by his use of Khuzdul she knew to be for her, she looked up at him.

>”No. I never officially divorced your father, and Elrond and I felt it was not necessary to characterize our bond in such a way. Not given the circumstances.”<

Melo’s corners of his mouth curled upwards in a devious grin. >”So right now, I am your nearest male relative?”<

Only after confirming that fact did it dawn on Eliana what Melo’s intentions were, and the stiffening of her posture and fear in her face made Elrond, whom had been trying to follow the conversations by the bodylanguage of mother and son, ask what was the matter.

Yet Eliana had no chance to answer, as Melo coldly said: “I think you should leave these chambers, Eliana. Or beter yet, you are going to leave now, and you are not going to try to contact Emma without her expessly wanting you to.”

Elrond frowned. “Who do you think you are?! Telling my—“

“According to dwarven law, she is nothing of yours, Elrond. If you had made it official, then you would have something to say. But as it stands right now, I am the one to decide what she does and does not do. And she is going to leave, and not speak to my sister.” Melo said smugly, knowing he was being cruel but relishing in it. The trembling of his mother’s lip brought a perverse sense of accomplishment, and a temporary disappearance of his raging anger over being in this situation. She looked at him pleading.

>”Melo, son, please! Do not do this to me, let me explain!”<

Melo shook his head. “Do as I say and leave.”

She knew she had no other choice, something inside of her practically forced her to do as her son told her, but having lived in Rivendel amongst elves, whom did not have such a patriarchal culture, meant she needed a moment to adjust to her new circumstances. She felt Melo’s harsh look on her, and then she got up, mumbled some apologies and left the room.

They were all staring at him, anger raging especially on Elrond’s face. With a smug smile Melo looked back at him. “Do you see what happens if you annoy me or my sister too much, Elrond? I can tell her to do whatever I want. I could even send her back to the Grey Hills. Guess how her reception there will be.”

Elrond gritted his teeth. “Do not forget that if the contract is broken, I will take her to Rivendel with me!”

Melo scoffed at this impotent display of frustration. “Emma is married now, and thanks to you forcing me to be here and listen to my sister being bedded, we are certain the marriage is consumated. So according to dwarven law, if the contract is broken, either her husband or I will stand for it because I signed it for her. And don’t forget that the breaking of a contract will be trialed by a dwarven court. You think you have a chance of winning?”

Elrond was about to reply to that spoiled brat of a stepson of his, when a muffled yet distinctly feminine moan was audible from the bedroom, and Melo threw his teacup against the wall and  left the royal chambers with a thunderous face.

 

X-O-X-O

 

A mere two or three trusts later, Thorin started to groan, and through the haze she found herself in, Emma heard him saying > “Emma, Emma! My One, my Only!”< louder and louder, untill he almost bellowed as he came undone, collapsing on top of her, panting heavily. They lied like that for a couple of minutes, him careful not to put too much weight on her, untill he got on his elbows again and looked at her.

But instead of looking back at him blissfully, as he had somehwat expected, Emma averted his gaze again, and when he got up further she quickly rolled away from under him, pulling the sheets around her tightly and turning her back to him.

For a moment Thorin did not know what caused this sudden change of mood, but then he got it.  Carefully he lied down behind her, his arm over her waist, pulling her to him closely. “This is what it is supposed to be like, Emma. Us enjoying together. Did you not notice how easier it went this time? It is because you enjoyed. Do you think your body makes you like something you’re not supposed to?”

Emma remained silent, but he felt her muscles relax a bit. She did not know why she felt so bad, as if she were dirty, but it felt almost impossible to look at Thorin after she had let herself go in such a way. But his words did make sense, in a way, and he did not seem to think badly of her right now.

She wanted to say something, but there was another knock on the door.

“What?!” he yelled irritated.

The servant, knowing better than to open the door, said:”There are visitors for you, they insist it is a matter of the highest urgency.”

“Who are they?’ Thorin asked through gritted teeth

“Balin, Melo, Gandalf, lord Elrond, king Thranduil, king Bard and a woman.”

“What do they want?”

“They did not say.”

“I am not receiving visitors now, give them a room or let them come back in a couple of days.”

“I believe that is not possible, your highness.”

“What do you mean, not possible?”

“They—eeeh—they are in your study, refusing to leave untill they see you.”

Thorin was now raging and he jumped out of bed and yanked the door slightly open and stuck his head around it, careful not to open it too far to keep anyone from seeing Emma. “You let them in my study, you blabbering nitwit?!”

“I-it was not so much a matter of letting them, b-but more of the wizard refusing to be stopped by anyone, y-your highness.” The servant said trembling, taken back by the king’s outraged look.

Thorin looked back at Emma, who was now laying on her other side, supporting her head with her hand, and the sheet only barely covering her. The look in her eyes betrayed how displeased she was with this situation, and he wanted nothing more than for them to just all go away.

“Then tell them to speak to Fili, he is acting king for now.”

“I have informed them of that, but the wizard is adament about speaking to you personally.”

He sighed. “A minute.” Thorin said before slamming the door shut again.

He looked at Emma one more time with longing in his gaze, and then started to get dressed.

“Thorin?’

“Yes?”

“Please don’t make me talk to them, not yet. I was supposed to have more time.”

It was the most vulnerable he had seen her all week, and despite the fact she had refused to talk about it, he could now feel just how much this situation was affecting her. It was probably worse than he thought if she asked him for something.

“I won’t. Just go do what you want, and I’ll see you back here in a while.”

Emma nodded, and he thought he saw a sparkle of relief in her eyes, though he was not sure.

“Are you certain you don’t want me to cover up?” she asked, all previous emotion gone, hidden behind walls, fences and locked doors.

“That would depend.” He chuckled. “If you leave this room, I would prefer for you to be dressed, but if you stay here, I don’t think you absolutely _have_ to cover yourself.”

She crooked an eyebrow. “You know what I mean. Do you want me to cover my face when others are around?”

He walked over to the bed and kissed her while cupping her face. “How can I deny the world the astonishing sight that is your face.” He sighed.

She smiled, relieved to be rid of her vail, and watched him as he continues to get dressed.

 

X-O-X-O

 

Thorin stumped through his chambers, pulling his hands through his hair to make it look at least a little presentable and then threw open the doors to his study. He found his neighbours, his father in law and that eerie elf witch Galadriel looking at him, all of them showing clearly that something very unpleasant had happened. Well, except for Thranduil, that blonde tree crawler looked just as sickeningly amused as always.

“Right, now what is so urgent that you need to disturb me?”

Balin wanted to say something, but Gandalf already stepped forward. “Thorin, may I introduce king Bard, king Thranduil and lord Elrond.”

“I already know them; you know as well as I do that Elrond is even staying here, so get on with it!” He was impatient; he wanted to go back to his bed and spend another day or two with Emma in his arms. Or under him. Or perhaps on top of him. Maybe he could even show her it was also possible with her on the table. Or perhaps bending over his desk.

“We are sorry to disturb you so soon after your marriage, but this matter can not wait.” Bard interrupted his pleasurable thoughts. His direct neighbour annoyed him endlessly in this moment. Always so apologetic and subservient. A king ought to be powerful, and show it.

“Yes, I was informed of that, now get _on_ with it!”

“Would it perhaps be possible to speak with all your advisors present?” Elrond asked, his tone flat and his face now completely void of any expression.

“Fine.” Thorin gruffed and turned to the servants. “Small meeting hall, food, Fili, Kili.” Elrond would not tell him whom he did and did not need for a conversation, his sister-sons and Balin would be enough.

The servant bowed and ran off, and Thorin got up and stumped to the small meeting hall, expecting his guests to follow him. The small meeting hall was not exactly small, but it was private so no one could overhear them. Nd most importantly: it wasn’t in his apartment, so Emma could have some more time without being pestered by their visitirs. He sat down and waved for his guests to do the same. Servants brought food and ale and Fili and Kili walked in and sat next to Thorin, who was now focussing on eating.

 “So Gandalf, what is the purpose of this meeting?” Balin enquired. “You have only told me that there is some sort of discord between you and Melo, and you need king Thorin’s aid in sorting it.

“Well, as we discussed after the battle, lord Sauron is gaining in strength, building up armies, strengthening Angmar and Gundabad.”

Balin nodded while Thorin rolled his eyes, irritated that he was disturbed for yet another talk about Sauron.

“You also know that the kingdom of the Grey Hills lies next to Gundabad, and that Melo’s father has allowed the lady of the Light to put protective spells around it before so Sauron’s armies can not enter our lands that way.”

Balin nodded again, the only one really paying attention, as Thorin was more focussed on his food and Fili and Kili kept poking his ribs and teasing him about his activities during his absence, not minding Elrond’s angry glances.

“Well, Melo’s father is no longer allowing the lady to strengthen the spells, so our defence is getting weaker.” Galadriel explained.

“You know, at the moment we do not have an army of sufficient strength to send warriors to our allies.” Balin carefully said, dissuading anyone from requesting any militairy aid from Erebor.

“I know.” Gandalf nodded

“Then why are you bothering me?” Thorin gruffed, pushing his nephew’s elbows away.

“You see, Melo’s father may have told Melo that he is not actually Emma’s father, but he did not know whom her father was. But now that Elrond has made that known, Melo wrote to his father, whom consequently immediately forbade all elves from entering his kingdom.”

Thorin looked at melo with irritation clearly written on his features and then got up, ready to leave. “Gandalf, Galadriel, Elrond, Bard, Thranduil, I think you can settle this matter just fine by yourselves, I do not see this matter as grave enough to warrant me stepping in.”

“Please wait, Thorin. You personally might not be able to help, but we need your wife’s help.”


	13. Talk I

“Emma? What do you want with Emma?” Thorin asked, while Fili and Kili ceased their teasing and were now staring at the wizard intently, waiting to hear what he wanted with the girl they saw as their sister.

“I thought that was obvious; we need her to offer a sensible opinion in this matter. An opinion that will be heard by her brother.” Gandalf said plainly.

Thorin pursed his lips and clenched and unclenched his jaw while thinking of what Gandalf has asked him. War had to be avoided at almost any cost, as he was obligated to send soldiers, soldiers he didn’t have to spare, in aid of his allies. Damn treaty!

“You have my leave to try, Gandalf, but I doubt she will help you.” He said, trying to show his good will but not give them too much, completely forgetting he had promissed his wife she did not yet have to talk to them.

“Perhaps if you were to support us in this?” Gandalf suggested tentatively.  “You know how serious this matter is, and Melo has proven to be completely unmoved by our arguments, as is his father. Emma is our last chance to settle this matter before we have to resort to moving our armies there in order to ensure our freedom. And if we go, you will also have to send your army, if I recall the details of our treaty correctly.” 

Thorin nodded and turned to one of the servants, ordering him to get Emma.

“I am very sorry, your highness, but her highness is currently in the training pits. Would you like me to fetch her nonetheless?”

“No. We’ll go there.” And he got up, followed by his guests and visitors, and made his way to the practice halls. There, they found Emma training with Jeron en Melo, currently working on different types of attacks. She was rapidly hitting pads attached to his hands, which they kept holding in different places.

At first she didn’t notice them, but when she saw Melo looking behind her, she turned around. She took her gloves of and crooked an eyebrow at Thorin after looking for clues on her brother’s face. “Your highness?”

>”Azyungal, immediately back to training, I see.”<  He said with an indulgant smile.

Again she looked at her brother, clearly visible for all that no matter what, he held the reigns. Melo gave her a small nod, indicating she could say whatever she wanted.

>”Yes, Melo needed to talk to me about the demands that your visitors have no doubt made of you and I needed some excersize.”<  She replied with a smile that did not reach her eyes. In truth, she was deeply hurt and angry with the fact that Thorin had brought his guests here. After Melo had told her exactly what was going on, she had expected her husband to speak to her about this first, ask her if she would be willing to mediate. Less than an hour ago he promissed she would not yet have to talk to them, yet his word proved to be worthless.

>”Then you know why we are here.”<

“I’ll leave you to it.” Melo said while he walked away, confident Emma would choose his side and not wanting to have to talk to the elves and wizard again.

As Emma watched her brother walk away, uncomfortable that she had to do this without him, she said:>“They have sent you on a fool’s quest, Thorin. It is not happening.”<

>”I would urge you to reconsider that, as it would be both highly costly and highly dangerous if I have to send my army to force Melo and his father.”<

>”You promissed Thorin. And this is Erebor statebusiness, I do not meddle in that, especially not if there is a conflict with Melo’s business.”< She said, respectfully adding ‘Thanu men’ at the end; his kingly title in Khuzdul, and a small bow of her head.

>”You will have to, seeing that you are queen now.”< he replied, also adding ‘Athumen’ at the end, but in a more sarcastic tone, mocking her pretence politeness.

>”No.”< She shook her head adamantly and crossed her arms.

>”Don’t make me force you, azyungal. I’m not going to risk to lives of my soldiers all because you refuse to talk to your brother!”<

>”You want to force me to do this?! Try it, see what happens. I will not be used to go against my brother; not now, not ever, no matter the stakes!”<  she said, the volume of her voice rising with every word she spoke and her cheeks reddenng in anger.

Thorin’s already thin worn patience was stretched to its limit. If she didn’t talk to her brother, he would have to send his army at great costs, in terms of both in lives and gold. He felt pressured , cornered and frustrated by the fact he did not keep his promiss, none of which was a feeling he particularily liked. Unfortunately, it was his wife he took it out on. >”Get changed, join us for dinner and do what they ask of you!”<  he barked at her, not caring what others might think.

She squinted her eyes, barely holding herself back from throwing her boxing gloves at her husband’s face but instead tossing them into a corner, the gloves flying dangerously close past Elrond’s head on it’s way to said corner, and then walked away.

Once in her bedroom, she rang for her handmaidens, ordering Shana to get her brother and Jalila and Mina to dress her. When Thorin also entered the royal chambers half an hour later, he found Melo sitting in the antechamber and one of Emma’s handmaidens informing him in a rather dismissive tone that Emma was bathing.

 “Why do you not want to help them?” Thorin asked Melo when the handmaiden had left and he also took a seat in the antechamber.

His brother in law looked at him with gritted teeth. “I think the more important question is why you force her to do this, Thorin. Why do you insist she speaks with them? Why do you involve her in this?”

Thorin jerked his head, also still riled up from the meeting, and uncomfortable with being confronted with the things that were not so well done of him. “Why?” He repeated, preferring to ignore Melo’s comments.

But Melo knew the message had gotten through, and went along with ignoring his questions, instead answering Thorin’s. “Because my father has every right to refuse. It may not be correct of him, just as it wasn’t correct of him to withhold the truth from us, but he has every right.”

Thorin raised an eyebrow. “Have you considered how this may affect others?”

“I have. Let them put their protective spells somewhere else than our borders, but for some reason they refuse to do that. That’s their choice, so their fault.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Both that woman and that elf have made my father look like a fool, I’m not going to do anything to help them.”

“So this isn’t about anger or pride then?” Thorin asked sarcastically.

“It might be like that for Emma, but for me it is about honor. How would you feel if Emma got pregnant with some elf?”

Thorin nodded, not having looked at the situation in that way, but said nothing, and so they sat in silence.

An hour later Thorin walked to the bedroom again. He saw his wife had finally gotten out of the bath and into her dress, and her maids were now doing her hair. As she saw him, she looked at him with nothing but disdain, as she had done when she left his company. He wanted to say something to her to make things better between them but he had no idea what. So he just informed her that her brother was waiting for her. She ignored him and her maids started on her make-up.

Half an hour later, she came out of the room, looking at Melo. He got up and brought their foreheads together, whispering to her about how he would fix this for her. She smiled faintly and they walked to the meeting hall, followed by Jalila and a stern looking Thorin.

**”And after they leave, you will take me away from here.”** Emma started

Melo stopped and looked shocked at his sister. **”Take you away? What about your husband?”**

**”If he acts like this to me, he is no husband, but more like father.”**

Melo stopped in his tracks. **”Like father?! What did he do?”**

Emma kept walking, forcing Melo to follow her.**”He screamed at me in public, bringing those elves to my practice and making me look like a petulant child. And he wants to come between you and me.”**

Melo glanced back at Thorin angrily **”And where will you go when you leave?** They have resumed walking.

**”I’ll figure something out.”**

**”I will give you the funds, of course, but I don’t think you can come back home. And perhaps you should think about it a little more, take a night or two to be sure.”**

**”Believe me, I have no desire to go back to father. Perhaps I will live in a city of men, Gondor or something.”**

Thorin’s head jerked up as he hears the word ‘Gondor’, but he said nothing and kept walking.

**”Did he…did he act dishonorably durind the honeymoon?”** Melo asked tentatively. He really didn’t want to talk about it, but could not ignore it.

She blushed and turned her head away from him**”Why?”** She asked curtly, remembering how she felt during the wedding night, but also this afternoon.

**”Elrond said something about it, but never mind. We’ll think of a solution, but first: lets get through this.”**

**”And you’ll keep them away from me? **

**”I’ll try, but I have little to say about it. Thorin’s your husband now.” **

They entered the small meeting hall where Melo sat next to her, both showing no emotion, while Thorin’s face showed his annoyance and worry.

“Emma” Gandalf started. “We are so happy you have decided to come.”

Emma just raised an eyebrow and Jalila stepped in: “Etiquette states that you may not adress her highness before she has adressed you.” She said to Gandalf.

Thorin’s head jerked up and he looked at his wife. She had not invoked her right to make people wait with adressing her untill she had spoken to them, at least once untill now. She didn’t mind with most of the wedding guests congratiolating her, she hadn’t minded when Dwalin spoke to her, Melo, her handmaidens, her trainer. But he had to acknowledge that it was her right. A right she would be using to work towards some goal, he mused.

“I believe I have already spoken with Emma on several occasions, and we just want to explain once more how important it is that you and your brother help us.” Gandalf replied Jalila

“You have not spoken with her after her marriage, so she has not adressed you yet. Please redirect your questions to someone else.”

Gandalf wanted to say something else, but Melo interjected: “You have explained it already, Gandalf, and the elves have explained it to me, endlessly. I have told them to put their spells around our kingdom, but that did not seem good enough for them. So what are we really doing here?”

Lady Galadriel got up. “We can not put the spells around your kingdom, because then Sauron’s forces would still be able to enter the lands of good, rendering our spells useless. We can only make a barrier between good and evil.”

Melo raised an eyebrow and Galadriel carried on explaining why she should be allowed access to his lands, going on for what seems to be an eternity, again.

**”What do you make of this, Emma?”** Melo whispered to Emma, almost rudely interrupting Galadriel, as he found himself incapable of feigning attention for what the lady of the light had to say any longer.

Emma shrugged **”I just want to leave and have no desire whatsoever to even think about this mess, nor do I have any idea why they bother me with it.”** she said, still showing no emotion.

**”Perhaps I should smother her in her sleep with a pillow so we can enjoy some peace and quiet. Do you think killing off elven ladies would be frowned upon?”**

Emma couldn’t help herself and burst out in a melodious, chrystal clear laugh as Melo was grinning. But when she saw the puzzled faces of her husband’s guests, she composed herself and turned her attention back to Galadriel, biting her lip to prevent further laughing.

**”If you wish for me to cease my explanation, perhaps you might give me an answer.”** Galadriel said indignantly, but with a slight undertone of amusement in her voice.

The sudden realisation that Galadriel could both understand them and also speak their language caused a tiny amused smile on Emma’s lips and Melo’s cheeks to redden.

He wanted to say something, but Galadriel interrupted. **”And do not deny it out of anger of past occurences or anger about this whole situation. Things might have been handled wrong, especially towards you, my child”** she said while looking at Emma **”But it should not cause this world to be taken over by evil.”**

Jalila wanted to step in, but Emma already answered Galadriel: **”Do not call me your child, as I am not, and do not presume to know what has happened or what our motives may be, for you know nothing of it.”** She said, still holding a blank face.

In the meantime, everyone was looking at the conversation that was going on between Galadriel, Emma and Melo, frustrated they did not know what was being said. Thorin looked at Jalila, who was standing behind Emma’s chair, but she made an effort to avoid looking back at him.

**”On the contrary, I know very well what has happened. Elrond was married to my daughter untill her untimely departure for the undying lands, so I know how the love between him and your mother has come to exist and has flourished in Rivendell.”**

**”We do not have a mother.”** Both siblings said in unison.

**”Her fulfillment of the role might be questioned, but your mother she is. I believe you have proven that by sending her away this afternoon, Melo. However, I do not wish to meddle in this family affair, that is all for you to decide. I do wish to urge you to allow me access to your kingdom.”** she pressed, now looking at Melo, who seemed to be in deep thought.

Melo and Emma looked at eachother and then bent their heads closer together, covering their mouths with their hands. **”Hook and bait?”** Emma whispered so softly it was impossible for anyone else to hear, elven hearing or not.

**”To what end?”** Came her brother’s reply in the same hushed tone

**”You won’t be able to get out of this. The only thing we can hope for is a win-win situation.”** Melo raised an eyebrow in question. **”You get in my husband’s favor and I get rid of the elves.”**

He still didn’t understand her plan, indicating it with a handsign in Inglishmek. He should not have however, as Thorin of course saw and understood they were up to something. Yet he did not speak, preferring to let the situation evolve as it would.

\--Do not let anger and disappointment cloud your judgement. Do not run away from this, nor your husband, as you have done before.—Emma suddenly heard in her head, recognizing the voice as Galadriel’s.

**”If you can’t win, sell your skin as expensive as possible.”** She reitterated the well known saying from their swordmaster to Melo, and he smiled knowingly.

\--I know you do not let anyone treat you like this, and I also know where that comes from. Just know that all present here that have hurt you, deeply regret it, even your husband. If you would look at his face, you would see the worry in it.—

But Emma did not move.

Galadriel smiles a bit. –He is currently worrying about what you and your brother have discussed about Gondor, and hoping you won’t leave him.—

Still nothing from Emma

\-- Ask your brother to discuss the matter of his kingdom in private, leaving the choice up to him. That way, you can both point at the other when asked who gave in. And afterwards, you will have the support of the elves to go whereever you want, or to stay here.—

\--I need nothing from elves. Work your witchcraft on my brother if you must, I’ll wash my hands of this.—

“Stop hiding behind your brother and your husband and your silly etiquette and get a grip on real life, Emma!” Galadriel had finally lost her patience, the normally silvery glow emanating from her now turning darker, but with rather adverse effects.

Thorin, Melo, Fili and Kili all jumped up and start cursing and yelling at Galadriel in Khuzdul, not realising she could not understand them, while Emma leaned back in her chair with a very small smile, looking at the scene unfolding before her.

“Enough!” Gandalf bellowed, effectively shutting everyone up. Emma looked at Melo and winked. For a moment he was confused, but then he also smiled as he got it: it was her plan to make Galadriel lose her patience. She leaned over to him and whispered in his ear:

**”Now you are going to trade the right to access your lands for the elves leaving Erebor and relinquishing their claim over me. Thorin will accept, seeing how angry Galadriel has made him.”**

Melo grinned, and then waited a moment untill all had calmed down. “This whole situation causes an unacceptable strain on my sister. If all rights to Emma are relinquished and Elrond, his sons and Eliana leave Erebor, you will have free access to my father’s lands.”  He said while leaning back in his chair, still wondering how he had not understood his sister’s last move. But then, she had always had been better at predicting how people would react.

For several moments, it was completely silent in the hall, Galadriel and Elrond exchanging looks while undoubtedly having a heated discussion in their minds. After a while, Elrond spoke up. “Three months. The arrangement made before signing the marriage contract will stay in place for three months. After that, it is up to Emma.”

“Two months. You will have untill Durin’s day.”

Elrond nodded, but added: “Sindarin lessons will begin tomorrow.”

Melo wanted to say something, but was prevented in doing so by Emma who kicked his leg under the table, so he just nodded and looked at Thorin. As holder of the Arkenstone he was kings of the dwarves; the reason he had been asked to mediate these negotiations. It was also the reason that any result of the talks had to be apporved by him. “King Thorin, your approval?”

Thorin nodded sternly, once, and with that, all gathered got up and started to leave the hall. Fili however walked up to Emma, a deviant smile on his lips.

“If I recall correctly, you already speak Sindarin.”

“Yes.” She mused.

“Then why did you not say anything when Elrond said he will start teaching you tomorrow?”

“So he doesn’t know I can understand their conversations and the hour per day he has with me is verbal.”

“Why does it matter if his lessons are verbal, would you not rather do anything, minimize conversation?”

“He can not say anything to me before I have spoken to him.” Emma snickered and started walking towards the exit of the hall, where Thorin was waiting for her.

When he took her arm, the smile disappeared off her face and was replaced by disdain.

>”Will you speak to me?”<  Thorin asked her.

>”No”< She said angrily, and she jerked her arm out of his grip

He grabbed her arm again, holding her back from the others.

>”Are you—are you going to leave me?”<  He knew he had overstepped by forcing her to be here. Lawfully, it was his right to decide this for her. However, he had promissed her a little longer reprieve from having to meet the elves again, and he had failed to fulfill that promiss. He did not know what she would do, did not yet know her well enough to predict it. Judging on his experiences with her during the journey and in the past weeks, he did not believe it to be impossible for her to just pack up and run to Gondor or something.

She said nothing and just looked the other way.

>”Tell me you won’t leave me, even if you are forever upset with me and never speak to me again, it would be a thousand times better than to loose you again.”<

>”Perhaps you should have thought of that before you acted like my adad and allowed those fools to speak to me!”<  she replied.

Lady Galadriel came back around the corner, wanting to speak to Emma. When Thorin and Emma saw her, they stopped speaking, not wanting her to listen in on their private conversations.

“There you are. Would you take a walk with me, so we can talk?”

“I do not believe you need a walk for that. Why don’t I just sit in my room and you enter my head against my will again?” Emma sneered.

“Come, I wish to tell you about your parents. Well, your father mostly. If you do not wish to walk, then perhaps we can sit somewhere?”

“I have had a really long, tiresome day, and want to take a nap. Let’s not do this, you will find it will be a waste of your time.” Emma answered curtly.

“Later is also fine, I shall wait for you after dinner.”

“I will be having dinner in my room.”

“Perfect, I shall come there.”

Emma walked off, having had enough from everyone wanting to talk to her or wanting her to do something. When she entered her bedroom, she could only fall on the bed, immediately falling asleep.

Thorin had wanted to follow her, but was stopped by Elrond.

“I have missed too much, Thorin, I need to get her back and you know as well as I do that that will be quite difficult in two months.”

“You have missed so much because you left her there. If you had wanted her, you should have acted sooner.” Thorin responded dryly to the elf’s emotional plea.

 “You married and bedded a teenager, without her wanting so, I have been informed! You have no right whatsoever to keep her from me!” Elrond hissed in frustration, shedding his usual composure.

Thorin turned red in anger, his fists clenched and a vein in his temple starting to pulsate visibly, at hearing these accusations and was ready to start a fight with Elrond, but the elf apologized.

“I am sorry, I should not have said that. This is all very—difficult for me, as it is to you and Emma, I am sure.”

“You have one hour per day, for the rest just leave her alone.” Thorin gruffed, and he walked away.

As he entered the bedroom, he saw her lying on the bed, clearly deep asleep, and sat in one of the chairs in the room, looking at her. He would be devastated if she actually left him, and he deeply regretted how he had acted to her this afternoon. He should just have stayed out of it, telling his guests to talk to Melo instead of Emma. In the olden days, his grandfather never had any of these treaties with other races, only with dwarves. Elves and Men had their diplomats at court of course, but their rulers rarely ever visited the grandest of dwarven kingdoms themselves. Now, everyone just came barging in. Did they not have kingdoms to rule? The roles had probably reversed while he was trying to make a living in almost uninhabitable places: the diplomats ruled the kingdoms back home while the rulers visited the rest of the world. Thorin sighed. Granted, his grandfather did have an easier time, but he also virtually invited a fire-breathing dragon without having allies to help them defeat the beast. Perhaps he should just bear the presence of outsiders in his kingdom for the sake of Erebor’s position.

When the sun started to set, and it was almost time for dinner, Emma started waking up, Thorin looking at her the first thing she saw as she opened her eyes.

“Did you sleep well?’’ he asked carefully

She looked at him with disdain again and then  got up and sat at her vanity, trying to fix her hair. He came to stand next to her.

“Azyungal, I am---I am sorry for what has happened, I truly am, and for my part in it.”

She just scoffed, not even looking at him.

“You must believe me, I am. I should have—handled things differently.

“Differently?! You should have sent them away in the first place. You should have told them to stay away from me, you should not have brought them to my training, you should not have yelled at me in public, you should not have forced me to listen to them when I had already said I wouldn’t and you should most definitely not have allowed them to stay after today! I am being used as a bargaining chip and you just don’t care!” She shrieked.

He backed away a bit, surprised by her sudden outburst, but then composed himself. “You are right. Shall I send them away now?’

“Nice king you would make then. First approving an agreement and then changing your mind.” She sneered.

E knew she was right, had known even before he spoke the words outloud. But he would, for her.“I will, if it makes you feel better. “

“If it makes you stay.” He added.

“They have nothing to do with me staying or not.”

“I know, but I want you to see that I love you, that I need you.”

He was kneeling next to her now.  “I will do anything, everything that I need to do to make you stay.”

“Sure, now you will, but not when it counted. Not when it came down to it. Then you just betrayed me, making me look like a petulant child.”

“Azyungal…lets have dinner together, and we’ll talk about it.”

“I’m having dinner here and you should eat with your guests.”

As she said it, a servant knocks on the door, bringing in her dinner.

“Dinner is served downstairs, your highness.”

“Thank you, I will be right there.” Thorin replied as the servant left.

“I will see you later then, I’ll be here right after dinner.”

He started to walk away. “Don’t bother, that lake-witch wants to talk to me and could not be deterred. Incessive woman. She will be here after dinner.”

He nodded and walked to the dining hall, wondering for the umpteenth time why such bad luck should always befall him.


	14. Talk II

Upon entering the dining hall, his already present guests looked at him expectantly.

“Is Emma not with you, uncle?” Kili asked carefully.

“No, she had prior engagements.” He replied curtly. Why didn’t his sister-sons know how to behave? They could clearly see Emma was not with him, why get more attention to that slightly shirking fact?!

>”Probably making a head start with her Sindarin.”<  Kili grinned under his breath.

“And Melo?” Fili asked, his voice thick because he was trying to hold back his laughter.

“How should I know?!” Thorin bit out curtly. This morning his day promised to be all he could wish for, but at the end of the day he was somehow having dinner with royal guests during his honeymoon, got into a fight with his wife and approved a treaty which would not be met with thankfullness from one of the other dwarven rulers.

As dinner had already been served, they were all just waiting for Thorin and perhaps Emma and Melo, so everyone started as soon as he sat down, talking softly amongst themselves. Thorin just quickly ate his food and then got up again and left the hall, quickly followed by Elrond.

“Thorin, wait!” Elrond nearly yelled as he quickly walked after his son-in-law.“I—well, I wanted to talk to you about Emma.”

“You already did that, you made me sound like a pervert, remember?!.” Thorin grunted.

“I know, I was taken over by my emotion. And a bit surprised by—cultural differences, I presume.”

“She does not want you here, she does not want to talk to you and she does not consider you her father. What else do you want to talk about?” Thorin sneered. It felt nice to be able to at least get rid of a little bit of his frustration by taking it out on Elrond.

“Could you just tell me what she likes to do, or anything about her?”

Thorin tilted his head a bit, like he was trying to decide on that. He thought about his own child that would be born soon, and he would hate not to be a part of the little dwarflings life. “I am not familiar with her daily program yet. I only know she excersizes in the morning.”

“What sports does she do?”

“She starts with running at dawn, then boxing, and then sometimes swordfighting, riding or bow practice.”

“Right, thank you.” The elf lord said with a small tilt of his head, presumably in gratitude for the information, and walked back to the dining hall.

Thorin went to his chambers, finding his wife standing on the balcony. He took a blanket from the bed and walked out to put it around her.

“It is getting cold.”

She nodded and pulled the blanket tighter around herself. Emma had been thinking about what to do, about how to tun this situation to her advantage. She had already come to the conclusion that having Elrond here could be leverage against both Thorin and Melo, as he could provide her with another place to live and a position. She could also use Elrond, as he was waiting almost desperately for her to talk to him. And she had to admit it amused her a bit. But what about Thorin? She had not yet come to a conclusion about that.

“Have you thought of what I said?” Her husband asked as he stood in the dooropening, not wanting to get out into the cold himself.

“You said many things.”

“And have you thought about any of them?”

She sighed. “What do you want, your highness?”

He went to stand behind her, fleetingly wondering why his wife would want to go outside in this weather when she could stay inside their perfectly warm and comfortable room. and wrapped his arms around her waist. “I want you to tell me that you’ll stay. I want you to want to stay. And most of all I want you to call me Thorin.”

Emma blew out an annoyed huff of air. “So you can push me around?”

“No, so I can love you and never leave your side, and to help you through all this.”

“I am in this mess because of you.”

“You are in this mess because of your---because of the elves and Gandalf.”

“You did not send them away, but instead caved to their rediculous demands. Without that, I would be blissfully unaware of everything.”

“How long would that have lasted?”

She said nothing and kept staring into the dark night.

“Come on, I will make you blissfully unaware of everything again.” He said as he picked her up and carried her to the bed.

There, he slowly took off the blanket he had wrapped around her, flollowed by her dress, and turned her on her belly. He started massaging her back, almost instantly relaxing her. But she tensed up as his hands went over her scars, so he moved his hands back up again.

“You know this could be a good thing for you, right?” Thorin said softly, the low timbre of his voice reverberating through the room.

“How is an elf coming here and telling me he is my father and I should not be married to you a good thing?”

He softly kissed her lower back. “He could be a good father to you, someone who loves you.”

She shrugged. “I don’t want him to love me, I don’t need him.”

He did not respond, wanting the idea to just remain slumbering in her mind untill she was ready to think about it further, and continued massaging her untill she was like butter in his hands.

“Just a moment.” He said in that impossibly low voice again, and walked ut of the room, leaving her in the bed, wondering if this was how marriage was supposed to be. Was it about constant forgiveness? Was that something she could do or would it be easier to just shut herself off from her husband?

Thorin came back to their bed, having told the servant they were unavailable for anyone and no one was alowed to enter the royal apartment. He remembered the events of the morning all too well.

As her husband came to lie next to her on the bed, Emma still hadn’t made up her mind. Yet when he softly pulled at her to turn around, she did not resist. It was not a conscious decision, just something she went along with.

 “I really missed you this afternoon, sitting so close to me and yet so far.” Thorin murmered as he pressed kisses up and down the column of her neck. Emma did not know what to say to that, but she gathered it was not really a question as he just continued, his hands sliding down and his fingers touching her nipples in such a way that it made her feel wamr between her legs again. “Somehow I have gotten quite fond of you being close to me al the time.” He murmers again, his hands slowly sliding closer to the apex between her thighs.

When he reached his destination, Thorin noticed how the tilting of her hips stoppped and she averted her gaze from him. He knew it wasn’t in any pain, but more like apprehension because she hadn’t gotten over her shyness yet.

So instead of continueing like this and risk making her feel uncomfortable, he sat up and placed himself behind her, pulling her up a bit. With small, light movements he continued, stroking around her slit for a while before softly sliding his middlefinger between her slit, gathering the moisture there to swirl around her pearl.

Thorin felt her breathing speeding up a bit, becoming more and more shallow as his movements sped up. With his left hand he started to play with her nipple, and the added stimulation seemed to bring her right on the brink of peaking. “That’s it love, just let go.”

His whispered words did the trick, and he felt her stiffening up, her head falling back on his shoulder and her back arched. Carefully he got up from behind her, letting her fall back on the pillows. He crawled between her legs and ran his hard shaft carefully over her slit, nearly overstimulating it. When she gasped, he entered her, slowly but fully. And then he waited for her to relax. Emma still tensed up when he sheated himself in her, but he knew it only took some patience. A soft, long kiss and more words of encouragement whispered in her ear also helped this time, and he felt her relax around him.

He started to move, remembering how to pleasure her. She gasped as she felt the friction, putting one hand on his shoulder and tightly holding on again.

“Good?” he asked between the harsh breaths. Emma nodded, and to his surprise she lifted her head a bit to kiss him. It was a marvelous moment in which he finally felt the was reciprocating his feelings at least a little. Feverishly he kissed her back, groaning into her mouth every time he pushed in. Emma made small, high pitched keening sounds that jst drove him mad and he really had to try his hardest to control himself.

When he took her left leg and pulled it up to his side, his wife’s mouth opened in a perfect ‘o’ shape, and after another two or three thrusts her eyes rolled back and she clenched around him. Finally he could let himself go and he fell over the edge with her, their foreheads leaning into eachother.

When they both came back to earth again, he looked into her eyes. “Does this put me in a more favourable light?” He asked with a small smile on his lips. Emma only smiled back, not saying anything, but it was enough for him. He kissed her again and rolled off of her.

“What time is it? Galadriel is supposed to come by.”

“I told the servant not to let anyone in and bolted the door.”

Emma laughed. “Then she is probably now waiting in our antechamber, I hope she’s annoyed.”

“If we just fall asleep like this, she will get it eventually.” Thorin groaned, tired of all the people that wanted their time and attention today.

Emma laughed again, but got up. “If I don’t talk to her now, I will never be rid of her. Put some covers over yourself, I need to get dressed.”

Thorin frowned. “I do not see the relation between those two things.”

“Unless you want my handmaidens to see a whole new side of you, you will just do as I ask.” Emma smirked.

“Right. Do you want me to come with you?” Thorin asked as he put the covers over him while Emma rang the bell for her maidens and unbolted the door.

“As you like.”Emma shruged

A moment later they walk in, trying not to look at Thorin, close Emma’s dress and fix her hair and make-up. Once that was done, they left the room as fast as possible, followed by Emma.

 

X-O-X-O

 

“Emma, how good to see you.” The elf said after having looked at her face for a moment. “I really want to talk to you about your father, perhaps giving you more insight as to the motives of your parents.”

“Galadriel, lets get one thing clear: I do not wish to speak to you, and he is not my father and she is not my mother. If you insist on speaking about them, just use their names or something.”

“Come sit next to me then, and I shall tell you about Elrond.”

“Perhaps it is better to sit in the sitting room, it is more private.” Emma said coldly, and she led the way.

When they were sitting, Galadriel started:

“Elves can have more than one great love, unlike dwarves, who have only one true One. After Elrond’s wife, my daughter, went to the undying lands, he was very unhappy for a long time, their children all that held him back from also leaving. But when he returned from a trade mission one day, I saw a change in him. He somehow seemed lighter, less troubled. He remained that way, becoming a little lighter everytime he went back.”

She paused a bit, sifting through her memories.

“I adviced him against it. I knew Eliana was married and that her husband would not take kindly to these things, even if it was just love and nothing else. He tried for a while, but in the end, he could not resist going back. He was terrified when he found out she was pregnant, and I can imagine she was as well. He wanted to go and take her away from there, with force if necessary, but I forbade it.”

Emma lifted an eyebrow, making Galadriel laugh in a most etherial way.

“I know, things go differently in Elvenculture than they do for dwarves, and I was the head of his house back then. Anyway, I told him to wait untill Eliana had given birth and was able to make a sound decision. But it was too late by then: on his way there he found her in some inn and she told him how her husband made her leave without her children. He took her with him to Rivendell, and after her recovery they tried to make a plan on how to get you and Melo back. But again, I forbade it. I know enough on dwarvenculture to realise it would mean war, and I did not want to risk the life of my kin for two children, one of them not even ours.”

They were disturbed by Thorin entering the room, but he said nothing and just sat next to Emma, placing one hand possesively on her thigh.

Galadriel sighed. “That is why Eliana can’t stand me, or hates me, actually. They had to wait a long time, but they talked about you a lot, always calling you their little star. Many years later, word arrived that you joined Thorin’s quest, and we were all waiting for you in Rivendell. You can imagine the disappointment when you weren’t there and Gandalf told us you has left the company. Elrond rode to Erebor to aid in the battle, but again he did not see you and he heard that you had already left. Nothing was heard of you for a while, untill Elrond heard that you were to marry Thorin. As everything went so fast, we were not able to be here earlier than the eve before your wedding, making your introduction to Elrond awkward to say the least. And during your honeymoon, I received word of the problems in Melo’s kingdom with the protection of the borders. So it came that our visit coincided with the need for someone to reason with Melo, perhaps giving you the impression that you talking to Melo is more important to them than them talking to you.”

Emma just raised her eyebrow again.

“But you have to believe me that they have been waiting for you all these years, and so have Elrond’s other children. I think you will like them.” Galadriel finished her story.

“I highly doubt that. So what is your real goal, Galadriel, besides casually telling me Eliana is my mother?”

“You did not know that.” The elf ascertained. She should have known Melo hadn’t told his sister yet, seeing how he had acted towards his mother this morning.

“I did not, but it matters little, as the agreements only includes Elrond, and not her.”

“I want you to give him a chance; at least give him the opportunity to talk to you.”

 “You know what is interesting?” Emma said. “Everyone just talks about what they want and what they need and what they feel, but no one has asked me what I want, need or feel.”

Both Galadriel and Thorin had the decency to look a bit ashamed.

“I know, and I am sorry for that. And if you really want us to leave, at least I shall, but I can not control what Elrond and Eliana do, as I am no longer head of their house.”

“You know very well, Galadriel, that I can not say such a thing, as my husband and brother have already made binding agreements.” Emma sneered.

“The message will come across, agreement or not.”

“If that was the case, it would already have. Why don’t you try to persuade Melo to talk to Elrond’s, eeeh, how should we call her? I think whore would be correct but perhaps a little crude. The euphemistic consort then?” Emma coldly said.

Galadriel chose to ignore the sneer at Eliana, whom indeed was not married in the traditional sense to Elrond but did have relations with him. “I have spoken with Melo, but he is still too angry at your mother for leaving him behind. He will not speak to her, as I have a feeling you will neither.”

 “I will think of what you have said, lady Galadriel. If you would excuse me, I am feeling rather tired.” Emma said, and she left the room.

Galadriel looked questioning at Thorin, surprised by Emma’s sudden departure, but he just looked back at her, forcing her to admit she did not understand what is going on.

“What happened, Thorin, why did she leave so suddenly?” she finally asked him.

“I thought someone with an insight as great as yours would know.” He smirked

“I am still surprised sometimes.” She said with a fainth smile

“That’s nice. It is good to be surprised sometimes.”

“Well?”

“I have some idea, but it is not up to me to talk about it. I have said it before and I will say it again: I am not getting in the middle of this anymore. If you want something, ask Emma yourself.”

“Then how do you see your role in this?”

“Probably as someone who has  clear the mess up after she has sent you away in two months.” He answered with a grave look on his face.

“And is she likely to?”

“That depends on how persistent you all are and how curious she is.”

“That is something, king Thorin. Are you getting in the middle after all? An excellent strategist as yourself would not just give this information up for no reason.”

He laughed, though not wholeheartedly. “I am not getting in the middle of anything, I am just---protecting my wife’s best interests. And now, I shall also retire. Goodnight, my lady.”

She got up. “Goodnight, Thorin.”

 

X-O-X-O

 

Elrond looked at his former mother-in-law as she entered his sitting room.

“Well?” he asked impatiently.

“It was, lets say, interesting. She did not know Eliana is her mother.”

“And?”

“She barely reacted to it, and I have absolutely no idea if she will speak to you or even warm up to you.”

“You mean to tell me that you have not been able to sense anything of what she wants?”

“Not nothing, but very little. It is strange, I can not read her like other people. She is too—shielded of, sort of speak. But Thorin did say something interesting.”

“Knowingly or unknowingly?”

“Knowingly, I am sure. Someone like him does not lets his tongue slip in a polite conversation.”

“What did he say then?”

“He didn’t day it with so many words, but it is all about persistancy and making her curious.”

“So he does want to help us then?”

“I do not think he will do anything to straightforward help us, but he does not seem opposed to the idea of us staying here a bit longer. However, you must remember that she is his One, but we have no idea if he is hers.” She sighed and looked at Elrond. “Perhaps you should try to fix this yourself, instead of sending others.”

He sighed and rubbed his nose. “I am going to bed.”

As it was her third conversation partner that went to bed while talking to her, Galadriel couldn’t help but think that she had to be boring people tonight.


	15. Learning I

The next morning, Emma got up and changed into her training clothes. She put on a soft, warm vest with a hood as she felt a cold wind coming from the windows. Once out of the magnificent gates of Erebor, she took her normal route and soon found herself running up the mountain path again. She pulled the hood of her vest over her head and closed the vest, shivering in the cold wind despite of her physical exertions. As she arrived at the plateau where she normally took a break before turning around, she was startled when she saw someone standing there. She had no idea why the plateau was ever created, perhaps for defense or scouting, but she had never seen anyone up here. It had felt like her own, private space in a world which was always watching her. Her surprise quickly turned into anger as she saw it was Elrond, again. He looked at her with a mix of hope, intrigue and vulnerability on his normally hard face, but she ignored it and just turned around, running down the path again. However, soon she found him running next to her, though struggling to keep up and looking odd while running in his formal robes.

She did not pay attention to him, and when they reached Erebor, she continued to the training pits for her boxing lesson. When she had first arrived here, the guards had been rather weary of the woman running in and out of the kingdom under their protection, often sending someone after her. Now, she supposed, she was just an oddity; a womanrunning up and down the mountain for fun. Arriving at the training pits, she saw Eliana standing next to the practice ring. She quickly turned around and went to the stables. The stable master saddled her horse for her, and she rode off with haste. She couldn’t take it anymore, everyone looking at her all the time, registering what she did. The scrutiny, the eagerness, the pressure, it was all too much and she just wanted to yell and scream and keep riding untill she found the end of the world. The wind in her face helped her to clear her head however, and she slowed her horse down, giving herself time to think about everything that was going on.

Thinking about seeing Eliana, she somehow felt even more animosity towards her than towards Elrond, but she did not fully understand why. Perhaps because she had been there with her and her brother, and should have taken them with her. Or maybe it had something to do with the difference between the love a woman should have for her children and the love a man should have for his children.

That train of thought brought her back to Thorin telling her he was going to have a child with his former consort. She had not thought of it ever since they started courting. She explored her feelings on the subject, but found very little, except for the definite thought that she was not going to take care of the child, especially as long as it was a baby. Which makes her think that she was probably not ready for children of her own, and that she should visit a healer to prevent such a thing from happening. Or maybe talk to Thorin about it first.

When she looked around, she saw she was already quite far from Erebor, and it was almost noon. Emma turned the horse around, but did not urge it to go fast, thankfull for some rest and peace to think. Half an hour later however, she saw Thorin, Fili, Kili, Dwalin and, to her surprise, Elrond riding up to her, looking very worried, and she stopped, closing her eyes for a moment to get over yet another intrusion and preparing for the reproach she was undoubtedly going to get. When they were almost next to her, Thorin jumped of his horse and runned to her.

“Where have you been?! Has anything happened?”

She looked surprised. “I was riding, why should anything have happened?”

Thorin sighed deeply in relief. “Thank Mahal! Eliana told me you ran away from the practice ring when you saw her, and we couldn’t find you anywhere, untill the stablemaster told me that you took one of the horses but did not bring an escort.”

“I did not run away.” She sneered. “I just decided to go riding instead of boxing.”

Thorin smirked a bit and got back on his pony. “Lead on then, show us what you got.”

She looked back at him and smiled before softly kicking her horse in the flanks. The beast has gotten used to her over the years, and knew what was expected of him, and before long it was galopping onwards, leaving the others behind. An hour or so later they arrived at Erebor’s stables, and she had to wait at least two minutes before the men arrive. As they do, she was standing there with a smug smile.

“Finally.” Dwalin groans. “Something we don’t have to hold back in.”

She laughed out loud, knowing the joke to be a hidden compliment.

She walked to her room and drew a bath. She almost moaned as she got in, the warm water relaxing her overworked muscles. She lied still for about 15 minutes, but then realised she was quite hungry. She got out of the bath and rang for her handmaidens to come and dress her. She picked a black dress with a tight bodess and a flaring skirt, not much unlike her other dresses, but with a little bigger cleavage, only barely suitable for wearing during daytime. Her hair was done in a tight updo, but she left her make-up casual, not wanting to look as if she was going to a ball or something. Lastly, she put her diamond earrings in and put her ring on, and then she walked to the dining hall, accompanied by her handmaidens. They sat at the table together, as Emma was not sure if Thorin is coming, and were soon joined by Jeron. They talk about everything and nothing, but soon get to the subject of Elrond and the smiles turn into serious expressions.  

Their talk was interrupted as their lunch was served and Fili and Kili join their table, turning around the chairs and sitting with one leg on each side, casually picking some small bites from the plates in front of them.

“Well, auntie, that was some really fine riding this morning.”

Emma frowned. She had never thought of Fili and Kili being her nephews, and certainly not about her being their aunt. It makes her sound like she’s 300 years old and hands out dusty candy. “Whatever you do, Kili, never, ever, call me auntie!”

He laughed as he stuffed a roll in his mouth.

“Is uncle not here?’ Fili asked, cutting through what was undoubtedly one of Kili’s better jokes.

Emma shrugged. “I haven’t seen him since we got back to Erebor. Did you need him for something special?”

Fili shook his head, though not really convincingly.“Not really, just some business.”

“I have to see him myself later, I will tell him you were looking for him.”

“Emma, does it bother you they are here?’ Kili asked.

Emma tried to buy time somehow. No one had asked her this question untill now, everyone just assuming it bothered her. So she smiled sweetly at Kili: “Yes, it is always bothering when people just come to sit at your table and eat your food.”

Kili lifted his eyebrow, looking at her a bit mockingly, knowing what she was doing and not falling for it.

Emma shrugged as if it was all no matter to her. “It is not my problem, they are Thorin’s guests. I only have to see one of them for an hour per day, and he can not talk to me.”

Fili the more serious of the brothers, knew Emma was putting on a mask of indifference. He also knew it was not up to them to do something about it, that was his uncle’s task. But he didn’t want to just leave Emma with her problems, he wanted to somehow make her feel better.  “You know what, let us take you out tonight. To an inn or something. It will take your mind of things.”He suddenly said, his mouth moving before his brains had thought the plan through.

“That would be fun.” Emma said, hesitantly. “But how will you get your uncle to agree?”

Fili smiled. “I won’t, you will. Just ask him, he won’t say no in fear of you getting upset again.”

“Now you make me out to be a spoiled brat who gets temper tantrums every five minutes!”

“No, not tantrums. You just walk away from every coversation you don’t like, and you did break lord Elrond’s nose.” Kili joked.

Emma waved her hand, as if dismissing the conversation. “I will go ask if my brother will also come. I have not seen him since yesterday. I don’t even think he left his rooms.”

“Tonight then, be ready at nine, and don’t look too regal if you don’t want to be observed al evening.”

Emma laughed and walked to Melo’s room. She knocked softly on the door, and entered as she heard him walking to the door.

**“Nadad, what are you doing, hiding in your rooms?”**

He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a hug. When Emma looked at her brother, she noticed how tired he was looking.** “I just don’t feel like being stared at all the time, and I had to write to my generals.”**

**“I have just the thing for you then! We’re going to an inn tonight, just Fili, Kili, my handmaidens, Jeron, you and me.”**

He smiled a bit and then shook his head. **“I can’t, I have things to do. And you will never get Thorin to agree.”**

She made a face at him. ** “I will go and arrange it right now, be assured I will succeed.” **

She almost ran to her apartment, hoping to find Thorin there. As she walked into the bedroom and saw he was changing into some fresh clothes, she gave him a soft kiss on his cheek and sat on the bed, watching him take his clothes off.

“Thorin?’ she said in her sweetest voice, playing with her hair.

“Yes?” he replied, a bit disappointed that her kiss wasn’t without reason, but that she wanted something.

“Would you mind terribly if I go out with your nephews, my handmaidens and Jeron tonight?”

He swiftly turned around, frowning deeply. “Go out where?”

“Just for a drink, to get away from everyone here.”

“From me?” Her question had made him insecure. Was he too old for her to have a good time with? Did she prefer the company of others?

“Of course not from you, you know what I mean.”

“Then why exactly am I not invited?”

“Would you like to come?”

He grinned, somehow entertained by the thought of him still going to inns at night to drink, but then looked serious again. “I would rather didn’t go.”

Emma crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Do you not trust me, or do you think I am still a little child?”

“Of course not!” he hastily replied, a little bit of panic in his voice. “But your brother isn’t coming and I know you haven’t done this before, Perhaps it would be better to just have some drinks here.”

“I thought you—“Emma stammered, almost choking in her disappointment. “You got me new clothes, different clothes, you were supposed to be different.”

He put his arm around her shoulders and sat them both down. “I am not your father, Emma, and I’m nothing like him. Wear whatever you please, you won’t hear any objections from me. And if you really want to go, go. I won’t stop you. I’m just worried about your wellbeing.”

“I want to go.” Ema whispered, somehow vulnerable and defiant at the same time.

Thorin sighed and nodded. “Then take some protection with you.”

“A knife or something, you mean?”

He grinned. “No, a guard.Take Dwalin.”

Emma thought about it. Dwalin was not too bad, more of an older brother than a guard. So she nodded. “Will you ask him for me?”

Thorin nodded slowly, not sure how he actually said yes to her.

Emma smiled and gave him another kiss, before walking back to the dininghall where everyone was waiting for her. As they saw her smug smile, they start cheering.

“We do have to take Dwalin though.”

“Dwalin? I wonder if uncle is not in his right mind from riding that horse so fast or something! Dwalin drinks more than all of us together!”

“Where are you two taking us then?’ Emma asked Fili and Kili.

“Just wait and see.” Kili grinned.

 

X-O-X-O

 

In the meantime, Thorin walked over to the armoury to talk to Dwalin. As he explaindd the situation, Dwalin started laughing. “Was she naked when she asked.”

“No.”

Was there a promiss of nakedness?”

“No.”

“A hope for nakedness?”

“Isn’t there always?”

“Then how did she get you to say yes?!” Dwalin was laughing quite hard by that point, yet Thorin did not believe it to be so funny. “I do not actually know.” He had to admit. “But now that I have said yes, I can not back down.”

Dwalin clapped his shoulder. “Don’t worry, I will accompany them.”

“Without getting drunk yourself!”

“Aye, without me getting drunk.”

“Alright then. Now come on, we have a counsel meeting.”

Dwalin sighed. Counsel meetings were the most boring aspect of his job and he had been working on a way to get out of them, with little luck so far.

 

X-O-X-O

 

The planning for the evening was interrupted as Elrond came to stand next to Emma. Fili, Kili, Jeron and her handmaidens looked up to him, exchanging some polite greetings, but Emma just looked straight ahead, so Elrond turned to Jalila.

“My lady, could you inform her highness that it is time for her first Sindarin lesson?”

Jalila nodded and looked at Emma, biting her lip not to laugh at the ridiculous situation. Emma got up and told Jalila to join her, and together they followed Elrond to the study in his wing. There the three of them took a seat and Elrond looked expectantly at Emma. With a sweet smile she put an hourglass on the desk and then sat back in her chair.

“May I invite her highness to start the conversation?” Elrond asked Jalila, his patience wearing thin.

Jalila turned to Emma. **”Come on, you can’t just let him sit like that without initiating the conversation, at some point you will have to talk to him!”**

**”I just have to remain quiet to him for two months, after that he will be gone. And besides, I find it quite amusing to see how he is trying to be patient. I would rather like to see him lose it, it was amusing when Galadriel did.”**

**”I believe that served a purpose. What may this serve?”**

Emma shrugged. **”I don’t know yet, but I think it will come in handy sometime.”**

“Well?” Elrond asks Jalila.

“I don’t think her highness will be inclined to do so today.” She answered apologetically.

“Perhaps you could remind her an agreement was made.” Elrond said through gritted teeth. He had spent decennia trying to learn to keep his temper controlled at all times, but somehow Emma had made all that hard work undone. She managed to get under his skin without even saying anything, he wondered what was going to happen when she finally spoke.

“I have, but the terms clearly stated that royal etiquette is to be upheld.”

Elrond nodded and then also sat back in his chair, observing Emma. If he were to stand on his rights and the terms of the contract, he would probably get nowhere. Perhaps patience would work more effectively. And no matter how this situation annoyed him, he felt the familiar sting to his heart of love a parent has for his child, mingled with regret for all that he has missed and the anger he has ignited in her.

**”He is going to beat you at your own game.”** Jalila said with a small smile. **”He will just keep looking at you until you feel uncomfortably enough and you speak to him.”**

Emma closed her eyes. **”Untill then, let me enjoy the peace and quiet, will you.”**

Jalila and Elrond watched her slumber for 45 minutes, the former looking rather embarrased and apologetic at the latter, untill Emma opened her eyes and saw the hourglass ran out. She got up, Jalila and Elrond doing the same, and walked out of the room.

“I am sorry, she will come around, I am sure.” Jalila said softly before also leaving the room.

 

X-O-X-O

 

Thorin and Emma went to dinner early, as she still needed to get dressed to go out. Thorin had the feelng he wanted to keep her close that evening, touching her with every excuse possible. He wondered whether it was the insecurity that made him so possesive, or perhaps the dress she was wearing. Dinner was a lighthearted affair; the royal couple talking about this and that with the people around them. When dinner is done, Emma leaves the table with her handmaidens while Thorin stays a litle longer, forcing himself not to walk after his wife like a puppy.

After Thorin believed sufficient time had passed, he also left the dining hall, curious to see what Emma would wear. After a small knock on the bedroom door, he went in, stopping in his tracks as he saw her.

 “Really? You’re wearing that?” He blurted out.

Emma had been standing in front of him, looking at him expectantly. But is wasn’t the radiant smile on her face that he was focussing on, he completely missed that rare occurance, it was her dress. At first glance nothing could be said against the piece of clothing. However, as he paid a little more attention, he noticed that the dress seemed to breathe sensuality. Perhaps it was because the cloth it was made of was cut in such a way that all her strong points were enhanced, perhaps it was becuase it hugged her curves just a little too tight, or perhaps it was just him and his attraction to her.

He was able to tear his gaze away from her just long enough to see her smile falter and Emma subconsciously hugging her sides in an attempt to hide herself. When he saw she was trying to conceal herself again, as she had done with the veil and the drab clothing Melo’s father had forced her to wear, he realised he had made a mistake.

“I am jealous of all the men that will have the privilege to lay their eyes on you tonight, azyungal.” He said while cupping her chin. The attempt  of taking his previous words back seemed to work well, as Emma smiled back at him, albeit a little uncertain.

Thorin took Emma’s hand and walked her to the front door. “Come, everyone is already waiting for you.”

She smiled again and then walked out of the door, casting a glace over her shoulder.

 

X-O-X-O

 

After a short carriage ride, the party arrived at an in in Dale. Mina handed Emma a cloak with a large hood, which she put on and didn’t tale off before they sat down at their table in a dark corner of the rather large hall. Even though the area wasn’t small, it was absolutely crowded with visitors, in all states of enebriation. Emma had to hold her cloak tightly to herself to prevent it from accidently catching on the the clothes of other visitors all the while having to look at the floor so she wouldn’t step in the dirt that covered most of the floor. As she looked at the moldy straw that was covering most of the floor area for absorbing said dirt, she thought that perhaps Thorin had been right and it would have been better to just have a drink at home. At least tha wouldn’t have ruined her shoes.

 “Ale all around then?” Fili asked, already getting up from the table to get their order. It pulled Emma from her thoughts and she vehemently shook her head. “Not us.”she said, pointing at herself and her handmaidens. “We prefer mead.”

“Told you, spoiled brat!”  Kili yelled and everyone, including Emma, laughed.

She looked around to see where Dwalin was, and saw him standing a little away from the table, watching the other inn visitors.

“Dwalin.” She called. “Will you not join us?”

It did not take much to convince him, as he came to the table and sat down next to Kili, clapping him on the shoulder. “Just the one then.”

But one turned into many as the night passed, as it did for all of them, and at about 1, Emma’s handmaidens started dancing. Looking at them, learning the correct steps from the men at the area reserved especially for this purpose, Emma felt liek she had somehow missed out on something. It was impossible to even think of dancing herself, let alone actually joining her handmaidens. Perhaps she could have done that before she was married, before she was queen, had she grown up somewhere else. She drowned her pessimistic thoughts in another tankard of ale, forgetting that she had never drunk more than one or two and she wasn’t as tall or large as the rest of the people in her party, so she couldn’t drink as much as they did.

An hour or two later, it didn’t matter anymore as they were all completely drunk, except for Dwalin, who was only a little drunk. They we regetting ready to leave, Fili stumbling to the bar to settle the bill.  Looking at the total, he found out he was rather short of funds.

“I will send someone tomorrow to settle the rest.” He said to the stern looking innkeeper.

“I don’t think so.” The man said. “I have no idea who you are and little  trust that someone will actually turn up tomorrow.

Fili puffed up his chest and tried to look at regal as possible. “My good sir, I am Fili, heir to the throne of Erebor!”

The innkeeper started laughing. “Sure, and I am the queen of Erebor!”

“You most certainly are not, she is sitting right there.” Fili slurrishly replied indignantly, pointing at Emma.

The inkeeper scoffed.“Queens of Erebor are marked, everyone here knows that. And I don’t see a mark on her.”

“Emma” Fili yelled at her. “Come here, this man does not belief you are the queen of Erebor!”

They all laughed while Emma got up and walked over to Fili uncertainly. “What may be the problem here?” she asked, casting a glance at the innkeeper. It was a rugged looking man, his face hadn’t been shaven for a couple of days and his dark eyebrows hung low over his eyes.

“This lad here says you are the queen of Erebor, and the remainder of the bill will be paid tomorrow, but I have little faith in it.”

“And what can I do about that? I don’t carry money with me.” She said, trying to sound at least a bit authorative, but failing quite miserably as her tongue seemed to have gotten a mind of it’s own.

The innkeeper crossed his arms over his chest, not in the least intimidated by the woman with the height of a girl. “Show your mark, and all will be well.”

“Then I shall.” She turned around and lifted up her hair, showing the small tattoo Dwalin has done for her.

“It is rather small, isn’t it?” the innkeper said with doubt in his voice.

 “What elso to do then? Look, I am queen Emma, this is prince Fili, that is prince Kili and the large guy standing there is Dwalin, armoury master of Erebor. How else can I prove it?”

It started to look like there would be trouble, but then two elves got up from a table on the other side of the dancefloor, and for a  moment Emma thought she really drank too much, but then she realised they were indeed Elladan and Elrohir, though she had forgotten their names.

“Let us settle this bill, innkeeper. They are who they say they are, but your lack of faith is understandable.”

Emma and Fili looked at them a little strange, but thought no more of it, unable to do so by the inebriated state of their brains. A minute later, they all stumbled to the carriages and nearly fell out as they exited them when they arrived at the front gates of Erebor. Walking through the halls and corridors, they kept talking and laughing, only at such a volume that most inhabitants of the residencies they pass were woken, including Thorin, who stuck his head around the door as he heard the rambunctuous group approaching.

“What in Mahal’s name are you doing?” he barked out in a rough voice, still heavy from sleep.

“We, uncle, are doing exactly as you told us. We are delivering your wife safely back to you.” Kili grabbed Emma’s shoulders and pushed her to Thorin. “Here you go.” He said with a satisfied smile on his face.

“OUT!” Thorin bellowed, causing them all, except Emma, to run off, laughing.

She giggled as she walked into their bedroom, and lied down on the bed. “Do you know that elves actually paid our bill tonight?” she said in blurred speach.

“Why don’t you get out of your dress first.”

She tried, but ended up falling off the bed as she did. Thorin looked at her wearily, but then picked her up, took her dress off and put her into bed. As he went to lie next to her, he heard a really soft snoring noise, and couldn’t help to laugh a little bit.

Before he fell asleep, he had been thinking that marriage wasn’t as easy as he had believed it to be. Suddenly the space that had been his for his whole life, was also Emma’s. His bed wasn’t only his bed anymore and his day wasn’t just for him to plan anymore. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to share with Emma, on the contrary: he wanted to share everything with her. But for a man who had gotten used to only take himself into account for the past 200 years, it was quite an adjustment. And then the responsability for a woman. Everything he asked or told her to do, was his responsability.  But right now, while listening to the breathing of his enebriated wife, it all didn’tmatter for a moment.

 

X-O-X-O

 

Fours hours later, Emma woke up with a terrible headache and her hair sticking to her face in a most offensive way. She groaned as she got up and stumbled to the batroom, splashing water in her face in an attempt to feel at least a little bit alive. She put her hair up in a bun and put her training clothes on, pulling the hood of her vest over her head.

She dragged herself to the main entrance and slowly started running, barely able to move forward. After three stops, having to throw up during two of them, she finally reached the plateau, where the sight of three elves waiting for her worsened her headache exponentially. She closed her eyes for a moment and then took another gulp of water from her bottle, preparing to start running down again.

“She is quite rude, isn’t she?” One of the younger elves said loudly.

“You are right, Elladan. A thank you would have been in order.”

“After all, we settled her bill last night.”

Emma closed her eyes. She had forgotten about that little detail and would have rather it had stayed that way.

“A rather large one at that.”

She knew what they were doing, she knew she was better at this game, but turned back to them nonetheless. As any dwarf, she did not want to have a debt to anyone.

“You are right, thank you, _Elladan_.” She said with a smug smile at Elrohir and Elrond and then actually starts running down.

 “Emma, wait!” She turned back with a pained look on her face and saw Elladan running after her, followed by Elrond and Elrohir. “Are you alright?” He asked.

“Quite well, thank you. Now, if there is nothing else, I have a full program today.” She replied with a nod.

Elladan gave her a small bow“As you wish. I will see you later.”

She crooked an eyebrow. “On what occasion?”

“I will be helping father with your Sindarin lessons.”

Inwardly she gritted her teeth, but she did not show them her irritation. “Untill then.” She said with another small nod.

Elrond looked at Emma running in the distance a little longer, and then they also started their descend along the mountain path.

 

X-O-X-O

 

Back in her bedroom, Emma lie back on the bed, waking up Thorin.

“Did you actually go for a run?” he said with a voice still thick with sleep.

“Yes, and when I finally managed to reach the plateau after being sick twice on the way up, I found Elrond and his two sons there, whom coincidently settled part of our bill last night.”

Thorin started laughing, though he was the only one seeing the humerous side of the situation. He was rewarded with a small push against his shoulder. “Don’t laugh, my morning really sucks. I had to thank Elladan, so I would not be rude, and now he will be helping with my Sindarin lessons.” She moaned.

“Why is that so bad?”

“Because I had planned to spend those hours in blissfull silence, as Elrond can not adress me yet, so not actual lessons are taking place.”

“So you do not tell him you speak Sindarin so you do not have to do anything for the lessons and then you just sit there while he waits for you to speak to him?!”

“No, I don’t just sit there. I slumber a bit.”

Thorin sat up. “Emma, come on! Do you have any idea how rude that is?!”

Emma placed a finger on her puckered lips, making a ‘shhh’ sound. “Talk quietly, I am tired and I have a headache.”

He looked at his wife, inwardly grinning about her behavior. But he knew this sort of thing is hardly behavior worthy of a royal.

“Come have breakfast then, it will make you feel better, so we can talk afterwards.”

She turned her head to him and looked taxating.

“Come my wayward wife, and join me for breakfast.”Thorin said laughingly as he pulled her up.

“Wait, I have to change and you have to close the dress. I do not think I can wake up my handmaidens yet.” With a groan Emma pulled a dress out of her wardrobe and took her other clothes off.

She stepped into the dress and turns her back to Thorin.

“A zipper, thank Mahal for that.”

She combed her hair and put some powder on her face, a little black on her eyelashes and a little red on her lips. As she looked in the mirror, she actually thought she looked somewhat presentable and she walked with Thorin to the dining hall. Arriving there, she saw to her relief that is was quite empty, and she sloached down in her chair and waved at the servant to bring her some tea with a lot of sugar.

“And please also bring her highness some bacon and smoked fish.” Thorin added before the servant walked away.

“Just hearing that actually makes me nauscious.”

“Trust me if I say it will help, I’ve been through this.”

“O yes, I forgot you are old.”she laughs as he looks at her slightly offended.

The servant brought her her tea, and she put both hands around the cup, slowly taking sips. “This actually does make me feel better. I don’t think I will be needing your terrible solution.”

He just smiled at her as the bacon and fish are being put in front of her. “Just eat one bite and tell me if you still think it does not help.”

She did, and actually did feel better.  He raised his eyebrow.

“Fine, you were right, are you happy now?”

“Yes, because now we can talk about what happened last night and during your lesson.”

“Acting like a dad again, Thorin, and I already have enough of those.”

“So now you are getting a sense of humor about this whole thing?! Seriously, tell me what happened, I am just interested.”

“We drank, we talked, we laughed and then we went home.”

“But how come those elves needed to pay your bill?’

“Fili did not have enough money, and..”

“How did he not have enough money, I practically gave him enough to buy the whole inn?”

“Because women with taste don’t drink ale, but mead.”

“Right.”

“And then the innkeeper did not believe we were royals of Erebor. I even showed him my tattoo, so he wouldn’t take our word that we would come back today to pay the rest.”

“He what?!” Thorin almost yelled out, slamming his fist on the table.

Emma’s eyes widened at bit. “He didn’t believe us, but then Elrond’s sons paid and there was no problem. By the way, can you give me some money, I will bring it to them later.”

“I will, but first: he saw your mark and didn’t want to let you pay later?”

“Yes, that’s what I said, why is it such a problem?”

“Because that mark is supposed to get you anything you want, no questions asked and the bill sent to our treasury.”

“It was late, we were drunk, who cares?”

“It is part of treaty made with Dale, I will talk to Bard about it.”

“Don’t make a big deal about it.”

“And what about the next time you need something, are you supposed to walk around with a bag of money or something.”

“Is something wrong with that?”

“Yes, it is beneath our dignity. Royal ladies don’t carry money with them.”

“Fine, next time I will let everyone know I am the queen of Erebor. Will that make you stop yelling now?”

“I will take that money to Elrond’s sons.”

“Don’t bother, I will do it myself.”

Thorin looked at her surprised, but did not say anything about it. “Pick it up with Balin from the treasury, and make sure you wear another dress, there’s bacon on this one.”

She looked down and sighed, wondering what this day would bring her gieven its horrible start.

“This is actually nice, having breakfast together. We should do it more often.” He said.

“We do it all the time, only other people are also present.”

“I meant with the two of us.”

“Then you should order it in bed and bolt the door. That is the only way to not be disturbed around here.”

“That might actually be a good idea.” He said with a lustfull look at her.

She smiled and got up, stroking his cheek. “It is a good idea, we need to talk about some things.”

He frowned. “Should I be worried?”

“Not at all.”

When she entered her apartment, she rang for her handmaidens, but she needed to repeat it three more times before Shayna dragged herself into the room.

**”I’m really sorry, my lady. I’m not feeling so well.”**

**”Have some tea with a lot of sugar and some bacon then. But first, make me presentable, I have to pay back those elves.”**

**”How did you find them so quickly.”**

**”They are Elrond’s sons, did you not notice that?”** Emma says with a sour face.

Shayna laughed, but then held her head. **”When will this pounding stop?!”** She moans.

**”Once you have gotten me ready.”** Emma said dryly, but also a bit impatiently.

Half an hour later, Emma walked out of the room and Shana went back to bed.

Emma knocked on he door of Balin’s study and entered. “Aaaah, Emma, how surprising to see you in such a good condition.”

“The story of my whereabouts last night has spread quickly, I hear.”

“More like you and your friends announcing your whereabouts last night. To most of Erebor. As it was happening.”

“I’m sorry Balin.”

“Don’t be, I never was when I was young.”

She smiled.

“So you are here to pick up some gold, I have been informed.”

“Yes.”

“And how much?”

“Thirty, I think.”

“Thirty?! What did you drink?!”

“A lot, as thirty is only about half of the bill.”

Balin scoffed, though his eyes shone with ill conceiled mirth. “Just wait here, I’ll get it.”

Five minutes later he returned and called for a servant.

“Please carry that for her highness.” Balin ordered as the servant entered, and he handed him the bag.

“I’m sure that won’t be necessary, Balin.”

“Remember dear, royalty, so no carrying money around.”

She nodded and got up.

“Are you going to bring it yourself?”

“Yes.”

“To lord Elrond’s chambers?”

“I believe that is where his sons are right now.”

“That’s nice.”

“If you think it is so nice, you go bring it then.”

“That would take the nice part away.” He winked

“Thank you, Balin.” She said sarcastically

“My pleasure, dear.”

She trudged to Elrond’s apartment, one level under the royal corridor, the servant following her. As she stood in front of the door, she too a deep breath and knocked. Elladan opened the door.

“Goodmorning, I eeeh, came to pay you back for last night.”

“Please, come in.”

“I’m sure that is not necessary.”

“By all means, do. We can start with your lesson.”

“Right” she said with a sigh as she walked into the antechamber, the servant following her.

She looked around and saw the apartment had the same lay out as hers, only smaller. “Just put it there.” She said to the servant and pointing to a small side table in the antechamber. “Thank you.”

He bowed and left the room.

“Come along then.” Elladan said, and she followed him into the sitting room, where Elrond and Elrohir were seated on the sofas and having tea, the remnants of breakfast still on the table. She also took a seat and looked around to find a servant, but appearantely there were none, so she just left the tea for what it is and started looking around. She saw the guest wing was better decorated than the royal chambers and made a mental notice for herself to redecorate Thorin and hers chambers.

Her ponderings about wallcolors were disturbed by the elves talking in Sindarin together, thinking she did not understand them, about how to proceed from here. Consensus amongst them would be that Elladan would take care of the lesson for today, and he walked over to her, handing her a book.

“Shall we start?”

“Start? With what?”

Elladan actually looked confused now. “Eeeeh, your lesson…”

She took out the hourglass again and put it on the small, elegant table standing next to the sofa she was sitting on. “O yes, my lesson. The same as yesterday, I presume?”

“We..eeeh…can build on that.” Elladan said, helplessly looking back at his father and brother.

“Great!” Emma murmured, and she leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes.

“What are you doing?” Elladan questioned sharply.

“Building on the lesson of yesterday. The added comfort of the sofa brings a whole new dimension to it.” She murmered.

Elladan was fuming, but did not say anything more to her. Instead, he walked back to his father and brother.

~” Is she always this disrespectfull?”~ He asked his father in an annoyed tone.

~” I think she might need to warm up to me a little more still.  I can understand, given the circumstances, she might not feel very inclined to really commit to learning about the elven ways.”~

~” You’re just trying to find excuses for her inexcusable behavior! Just admit that she is being a spoiled brat!”~

But Elrond and Elrohir stood up for her, trying to come up with possible reasons and solutions for her behavior for the next 50 minutes, untill Elrohir said:

~”Perhaps she can not learn very well, or she can’t read at all, and she is trying to hide it with a mask of indifference.”~

This was too much for Emma, whom has been pretending to be asleep to listen to their conversation but now scoffed loudly, startling the elves.

~” Really? You think I can not read and therefore I feign disinterest?! Would that be on the count that I am stupid or just that dwarves do not have enough interest in their daughters and wives to teach them anything?”~

~” You…eeeh…you speak Sindarin?!”~ Elladan uttered with difficulty.

~”Then why did you not say anything, so we could do something more interesting?”~ Elrohir muttered.

~”Something more interesting? Read that poetry?” She said while pointing at a stack of books. ~”I have already read them all. Learn to shoot a bow? I can already do it. Elven war strategies? I already studied them. The only elven thing I might not be able to do is build a treehouse, but I have not enjoyed climbing trees since I was 10. Perhaps you can teach me how to gracefully pull off a perfect look of disdain and arrogance. You know, we could get out some mirrors and all stare at them untill I know the exact degree to which to crook my eyebrow.”~ Sarcasm was dripping off her tone, and she was probably sporting the facial expression she just described, but she cares little.

~” We…eeeh…we’re sorry. But you have been acting disrespectfull!”~ Elladan said.

Emma looked at the hourglass and saw that the hour has passed, so she got up. ~”Please, allow me to teach _you_ something. Respect is something you earn, not something that is just handed to you simply because you exist. And certainly not something you can get by blackmailing people into signing a contract.”~

And with that, she left the sitting room, walking back to her chambers. She was fuming with rage, over the stupid assumptions they made regarding her and their conceided attitude. But she also felt something else, some form of regret or compasion, she could not quite make it out. Although his sons were rather annoying, Elrond did stand up for her, and he looked rather disappointed and rejected when she left his chambers after exactly an hour. Thinking of it only makes the feeling worse, makes it swell in her chest, and it causes her to feel overwhelmed and barely able to breath.

 “Emma, are you alright?”

Thorin walked out of the bathroom and saw his wife standing in the middle of the room, breathing heavily and looking rather pale.

“No, just fine, I think I need to have a nap or something.”she said, and lied down on the bed.

He lied next to her, looking at her closely. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Quite sure.”

“Shall I get a healer?”

“If you do that everytime I’m tired, you will have to get him a room next to ours.” She said sarcastically.

“Sleep then. I have a counsel meeting, I will check up on you after. Shall I have lunch send here?”

“I’m not hungry.”

When Thorin left, she pulled the covers over herself and tried to sleep. But her thoughts are racing and Elrond’s face kept popping back up in her head. She tried to push it away, but as Elrond himself, it refused to leave.

She finally fell asleep, but was awoken by a cold hand on her head. She opened her eyes and saw Thorin looking at her with worry in his eyes.

“How are you feeling?”

Emma yawned. “Tired.”

“I am going to get a healer, you have a raging fever!”

“I just drank too much.”

“Drinking does not give you a fever. Don’t move, I will be right back.”

She wanted to get up, but couldn’t find the strength and fell into a slumber again. Not much later, Thorin came back, accompanied by Oin.

Oin put his hand on her head and nodded.”Yes, definitely a fever. How are you feeling, dear?” He yelled.

“Tired.”

“Right, I need to ask you some questions. Have you ever felt like this before?”

“Look, I just drank a little too much and didn’t sleep enough. Everything is fine, really.” Emma was annoyed by her having been woken up and by Oin’s rather loud volume.

“Drinking does not cause a fever. So have you ever felt like this?”

“No.”

“Were you sick a lot before you came here?”

“No, I am rarely sick.”

“When did you last bleed?”

Emma felt her face turning bright red. “I hardly think…” She murmered.

“I am sorry if this embarasses you, but it is important.”

She avoided looking at either Oin or Thorin. “two and a half weeks before the wedding.” She whispered.

“And is your cycle regular?”

She almost couldn’t breath anymore from embarrasment, so she just shrugged, not really knowing if she was but praying this was the last question regarding this subject. But no such luck.

“Would you say you bleed heavily?”

She shook her head, looking out of the window now.

“And do your bleeds cause you pain or discomfort?”

She shook her head again.

“Have you two layn together often?”

Thorin started caughing. “What does that have to do anything with my wife having a fever?!”

“I am trying to determine the chance that she is pregnant.”

Both Thorin and Emma jerked their heads to Oin. “Three times.” Thorin says while Emma blushed heavily again.

Oin felt Emma’s throat and listened to her heart.

“I think it is some kind of a virus or something. Just rest and drink a lot, I will send something for the fever.”

He got up and left the room. Emma kept staring out of the window and Thorin came to sit next to her, pushing her down until she was lying on her back and then lied next to her.

“Did it really make you feel uncomfortable?” he asked.

“No, I think it is a rather delightful topic to discuss, but I prefer to keep it for agreement negotiations and such.” She replied sarcastically.

He chuckled and presses a kiss on her forehead. “Sleep now, you will feel better after.”

When she woke up again, she found Thorin sleeping next to her and the sun rising. She must have slept all afternoon and night. She got up but felt her legs are weak. She dragged herself to the bathroom and washed up, and put her training clothes on.

When she started her run, it feels like her legs are made of jelly and as heavy as stone, and she found it even more difficult than yesterday to even put one foot in front of the other. After a mere 10 minutes she had to sit down, unable to go further or back. She sat next to the mountain path for a while, breathing heavily, thinking how she was ever going to find the energy to get back to Erebor, and then saw Elladan and Elrohir walking up to her.

“We thought you were never coming, after…eeeh..well after yesterday.”

She could only wave er hand in a –never-mind motion at them.

“Are you alright?” Elladan said worriedly while kneeling next to her.

“I will be, I just need to sit for a bit.” She grunted at him, annoyed that they were there, again.

He put his hand on her forehead, but she had no strength to move her head away from him.

“You have a fever, you should be in bed.”

“And you should mind your own business.”

He chuckled. “Come on, let me bring you back.”

“I am not a child, I do not need someone to bring me back to my own rooms!”

“I know, just do it as a favor to us.”

They both offered their arm and she reluctantly accepted, knowing she just couldn’t get back by herself, leaning heavily on them to get up. Slowly they walked back.

When they reached the royal chambers after quite some time and she opened the door she wanted to say something, but was interrupted by a rather angry looking Thorin.

“Please do not tell me you actually went for a run!?”

“I tried.”

“Oin told you to rest!”

“I will, I will.” Emma murmered as she walks to the bedroom, Elladan and Elrohir looking at her before nodding at Thorin and walking away.

Thorin went to see how Emma was doing, and found her deep asleep.

Throughout the whole day, Emma’s elven family kept coming to her rooms to see how she is, and even the chef stops by himself to bring soup, but Thorin had to disappoint them all because Emma was sleeping, and she continued to do so all day and all night.

The next morning Thorin woke up and felt her forehead. The fever seemed to have gone, and he smiled when he looked at his peacefully sleeping wife. She slowly opened her eyes and smiled back at him.

“What time is it?”

“Morning.”

“That’s strange, I feel like I have slept for hours.”

“You did. You slept all day and all night.”

“Really?’

“Yes. Are you feeling better?”

“I think I am.”

“Would you like to have breakfast together?”

Emma nodded, and he ordered the servants to bring breakfast. They brought the trays a little later, and Emma and Thorin lied on the bed while eating.

‘Thorin?”

“Hmm.”

“How is your—your consort?”

His head jerked up. “Ahum, eeeh, fine.”

“And the child?”

“Yes, yes, fine.” He mumbled, looking at the ceiling.

“You do know that I am trying to ask which arrangements you will make them, don’t you? And that we will have to discuss the topic sometime?”

“You’re right.” He sighed. “I have given her an appartment here in Erebor and a monthly allowance. I would—I would….”

“You would like your child to be close?”

“Yes.” He replied, almost embarrased.

“I should hate for you to think I have a problem with that.”

He looked at her. “You don’t? Have a problem with it, I mean.”

“No, I don’t. As long as you manage to avoid embarrasing situations.”

“I don’t think they will be part of court life, unless she marries a noble or something and that will most likely not happen, so you will probably never see her.”

“And do you want more children?”

Thorin smiled warmly. “Of course!”

“You see, I don’t think I am ready children right now. In a couple of months or years I perhaps, just not yet.”

He took her jaw in his hand. “Then we will wait. The healer will have something for it, I will set up an appointment.”

She smiled, happy to have cleared up everything with a lot less problems than she had expected.

“Was this what you wanted to talk to me about?”

She nodded.

“Great then, shall we have a bath?”

She got up and walked to the bathroom, taking her clothes off, as does he.

“How are things going with your lessons with Elrond?” he asked as she was lying with her back against his chest, softly stroking his muscular thigh with her thumb.

She shrugged. “I only had two.”

“You are still pretending to not know Sindarin?”

“No. As he can’t speak to me yet, the first lesson I said nothing and he spoke with Jalila. And the second lesson was mostly about Elrond, Elldan and Elrohir taking about why I would pretend not to be interested in learning, and them coming to the conclusion that I either can not learn or I can not read.”

Thorin laugh roared through the bathroom, echooing of the walls. “Please tell me you said something about it.”

“Yes, it was quite funny actually. I have never seen elves so shocked.”

“And now what?”

Emma shrugged. “No idea. I guess I will see later today.”

“I mean about Elrond. Are you ever going to speak to him?”

“I don’t know. I actually feel bad about disappointing him every time, but I could use it as a bargaining chip.”

“You have to remember that he probably feels really different about this than you do, and it would be heartless to use his feelings.”

Emma turned around. “I think leaving your child behind is heartless.” She said with defiance in her voice.

Instead of argueing about this with her, he choose a much nicer way to spend his morning and pulled her on his lap and started kissing her. After initial reluctance, she passionately kissed him back, moving softly  in the rhytm of his gyrating hips, rubbing her sex against his member as she did. His fingers went to her clit and slowly started circling it. She moaned and ran her hand over his chest, moving her hips faster. He stopped her movements for a moment and slowly lowered her on to his member, entering her all the way. He groaned and lied back a little bit, grasping her ass with one hand and circing her clit with the other. But after a few insecure attempts to move in the right way, it became clear she has no idea what to do, so he lifted her a little bit and started thrusting upwards.

“Don’t hold back, don’t be shy, just do what feels good.” He whispered, and Emma nodded slightly.

The water made moving a lot easier, and before long he heard her soft moans as her pleasure coming rises, so he leaned her back, the water carrying her weight. She was so deliciously sensitive, he thought as he shifted a bit, making sure he enters her in just the right angle.

“Yes, faster!” She moaned, her fingers running through his chesthair.

He immediately did as she asked, water splashing over the sides of the bath. Emma let out a few more keening noises and then reached her peak, only held up by his arm around her. He kept thrusting into her and then also came, groaning out her name. She lied down on his chest, her fingers stroking up and down his muscles.

“We have messed up the whole bathroom.” She murmered.

“Thank Mahal we have servants.” He agreed.

She laughed and got off his lap, taking a spunge and washing herself while he watched. When she was done, he helped her out of the bath and they dried themselves off. She waited untill he was dressed and then rang for her handmaidens to dress her. She put her leather pants and black woolen top on herself, but asked her maidens to do her hair and make up. As they did, Thorin was observing her, musing about the exotic yet familiar way she looked. But then she got up and walked to the door.

“What are you going to do this morning?” he asked her.

“Watch the practice for a bit.”

“Just watching?”

“Yes, I am not quite ready to take a blow to my head yet.”

He walked her to the practice hall, but had to leave to attend counsel. Emma sat on one of the benches and looked around to see which warriors were training. To her surprise she saw Elrond and Dwalin training together, and she moved to a bench closer to the pit they are using. Even though they were just training, their fight was highly entertaining. Dwalin rarely found an opponent in Erebor to match his skills, being the veteraned fighter he is and Thorin not practicing often anymore, but Elrond demanded all of his skill. Looking at the elf lord, one might suspect him to be more of a politician than a warrior, but nothing was less true. He wielded his sword in a way Emma had never seen before, and for a while she could only look at the way he seemed to effortlessly fly through the pit, attacking much more than he had to defend.

She was forced to tear her gaze away from the training when Elladan and Elrohir came to sit on either side of her.

“Feeling better?”

“Hmmm.”

“Have you already thought of what you want to do in your next lesson?”

“If you are speaking about the lesson your father is forcing me to follow, I don’t have to think of anything; I am perfectly content with catching up with a bit of sleep for an hour.”

“It could be a lot more interesting for you if you told us what you like, instead of pretending you know nothing.”

Emma grinned a bit, still amused with herself.

“Come on, there has to be something you like.” Elladan pressed. “Something that doesn’t involve mirrors and eyebrows.”

Emma hesitated for a moment and looked at Elrond and Dwalin training. “That. I would like to learn that.” She eventually said a bit shyly.

Elladan and Elrohir turned their heads in the direction Emma was looking, and saw their father and Dwalin. They smirked.  “You can’t learn that! Father has been teaching us for over 500 years, but we are not even get near his level of accomplishment! It is a gift, not something you learn.” Elladan loudly exclaimed laughingly.

“Fine. You think of something then.” Emma sneered while she got up and walked out, not listening to the twins trying to call her back.

Elrond mindlessly blocked Dwalin’s attack as he saw Emma walking out of the hall, looking rather crossed, and he beckoned his sons to come to him.

“What was that about?”

“We tried to find out what Emma would like to do for her lessons, and she said she wanted to learn to fight like you. But I am afraid she got upset when we told her she couldn’t do it.” Elrohir said.

Behind them, Dwalin bursted out in loud laughter and they turned to him.

He laughed and raised his hands. “I’m not getting in the middle of this!”

When they elves looked at him a little reproachfull, he shrugs his shoulders. “I’ll only tell you that you undererstimate her perseverance.”

Elladan and Elrohir shift uncomfortably on their feet, but Elrond frowned at Dwalin. He anted to say something, but the king of Erebor walked into the hall, and everyone suddenly stopped for a moment to bow for their king.

“Something wrong?” Thorin asked, no one specific.

Dwalin told him what happened and Thorin looked questioningly at his family in law. “Swordfighting like an elf?”

“Yes.” Elrond answered with a really small, almost invisible, proud smile on his lips.

“And you told her she could not do it?” Thorin asked, now turning to Elrohir.

Elrond’s youngest son actually managed to look a litle bashfull.“Yes.”

“Well, this will be interesting.” Thorin mused, and he walked away, his hands clasped behind his back.

Now that Thorin has left, Dwalin starts grinning again and ELrond turns back to him. “How do you know so much about Emma, you have not known her for very long, right?”

Dwalin shrugged, not one to brag about his royal connections. “I was there when she accompanied us for part of the quest, and I have known Thorin for a very long time, so I have heard enough about her.  And of course we often see eachother here.”

“ _Part_ of the quest?” Elrond asked.

Dwalin cleared his throat, knowing he has said something he shouldn’t have. “I have something to do, please excuse me.” And he quickly walked out of the practice hall, leaving the puzzled elves before they can say anything else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Want to know more about Dwalin's backgroundstory? Look up 'The unwanted crown'. I've written a whole story just evolving around him :)


	16. Learning II

A week passes, and during that time Elrond kept thinking about giving Emma swordfighting lessons. There is a chance she might actually talk to him if he does, but she might also get frustrated and upset. But then, teaching her would take more than two months, perhaps leading to an extended stay. He weighed his options, chosing one but then changing his mind and back. In the end, he decided to see what she can do before making a final decision. It could hardly go worse that the silent hour they now have in his apartment everyday.

“Elrohir, go to the armoury and ask for four bows and some arrows, we’re going riding.”

“I thought it was time for Emma’s lesson.”

“This is her lesson. I will see what she can do before actually asking her if she wants to practice with swords.”

Elrohir crooked an eyebrow but said nothing and walked out to fetch bows, arrows and Emma. A couple of minutes later he returned with her, still dressed in her training clothes. Elronds called for Elladan, telling him they will go to the edge of the forrest to practice their shooting while riding.

Emma squinted her eyes and sighs deeply, deciding whether she should say anything or not. Jalila’s prediction is coming true: he is beating her at her own game. The silence is starting to make her feel uncomfortable, while Elrond was getting more and more at ease with it. And now there was an opening, a necessary remark she could make while the circumstances would give her an excuse.  Her window of opportunity was slowly closing, and Emma was hurrying to make a decision.

After watching the elves pack up everything they need for a while, she said: “We can not shoot at the edge of the forrest. There are alotted times for bow practice, to prevent anyone from getting injured by a stray arrow and now is not an alotted time. It is only once a week.”

Elrond, Elladan and Elrohir all looked up at Emma, whom had finally spoken to Elrond, but said nothing and acted like it is the most normal thing in the world.

“You’re the queen, make it an alotted time.” Elladan said.

Emma shook her head. “There are hunting parties going on, and I’m not going to be the one to scare away their prey.”

“And when is the next alotted time?” Elrond asked, carefully, tentatively, but also casually.

“In five days.” She answered dryly. “If you want to go shooting, you’ll have to go further, to the moorlands, and shoot at the bushes or put up some targets. Or the indoor range of course.”

“The moorlands are more than half an hour away.” Elrohir said.

Emma nodded. “They are.”

Elrond saw where the conversation is going, and he did not want her to back out, so he took the opportunity as it presented itself. “Let us get the horses then.” He commanded.

Together they walked to the stables, where the stablemaster hurried to get Emma’s horse while his assistants got horses for Elrond, Elldan and Elrohir. When the animals were saddled up and every part was adjusted to the elves’ height, they took off.

“Is that your own horse, Emma?” Elrond asked her when they were riding in a moderately fast pace to the moorlands.

“It is.” She answered cautiously.

“I thought dwarves prefered ponies.”

 “Most do.”

“But you don’t?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“They go too slow and are not suitable for battle. They are too meek and run off when confronted with too much noise or the smell of blood.”

“And you need a battle horse?” Elrond asked, without a trace of sarcasm in his voice, only interest.

Emma looked at him, trying to find out if he was actually interested or making fun of her. But as his face matched his tone, she shrugged. “You can steer warhorses with just your legs, with ponies that would be impossible, so you can’t shoot a bow while riding a pony. Melo got it for me, because of it’s speed and stamina. And it came in handy on the journey and after.”

“After?”

“The battle.”

“You were at the battle against the orcs?”Elrond said with disbelief in his voice.

“Is that so hard to belief?” she said in a defensive tone.

“No, no! I just didn’t see you coming out of Erebor with Thorin and the rest of the company.”

“I was somewhere else.”Emma quickly said. “But what were you doing there?”

“When we heard of Thorin’s endeavour and your role in it, we expected to see you in Rivendell. But when you weren’t there and everyone refused to answer our questions regarding your absense or said you hadn’t even joined in the first place, we rode out to Erebor with a small army in the hopes of finding you there.”

“To intercept me and drag me to Rivendell, no doubt.” She said dryly.

“Yes.” Elrond admitted.

None of them said anything more for a while, letting his words linger between them. But then Elrond looked at her again.

“What did you feel, at the battle I mean.”

Emma had no idea how she got into this situation. She had not planned to talk to him, especially not about Thorin’s journey, but something in him made she could not be as cold as she normally was. She found it both annoying and familiar. Talking to him was so easy that Emma was wondering if he was working some kind of elven magic on her. After a moment she dismisses the thought. If he could do magic, he would have used it sooner to make her talk to him.

“I wasn’t with the main force, but it was both dark and liberating.”

“Liberating?”

“I did what I promissed to do, and more than that, so I felt liberated.”

“Everyone is very evasive regarding your role in the quest and the battle, and I have no idea why. Will you tell me?”

“It is a long story.”

“On the way back then?”

“I am not a good storyteller. Someone else would be able to gve you much more interesting account.”

“But they can not tell me what you did, what you felt. Will you tell me?”

She rubbed the nape of her neck and then looked at him, almost taxating. “Perhaps.”

A few moment later they arrived at the edges of the moorlands and Elladan and Elrohir look around. “We can make it work here. Emma, here’s your bow.” Elladan said while throwing the bow at her.

She catched it and asked him what the targets were.

“Why don’t you shoot at that tree there.”

“That tree is 50 foot away, Elladan.”

“Is that too far?”

She squinted her eyes. “If I wanted to stand still and shoot at objects that are 50 foot away, I could have stayed in Erebor and use the range.”

“Alright, I will stack some stones along a course.” He said with a grin and both him and Elrohir rode out, intermittantly stopping to stack some stones.

Emma and Elrond waited, her looking intendly how often Elladan and Elrohir stop and where, so she knew how many targets there were and where. After a quarter hour or so, Elladan and Elrohir seemed to be satisfied with the course they have set and rode back to Elrond and Emma.

“Well go on then, show us what you got.” Elladan said with a smug smile.

Emma ignored his arrogance and looked at the sky and the trees to see the direction and force of the wind. Then she whispered something to her horse and the animal galoped off. She steered him with her legs and pulled an arrow out of the quiver on her back. She lay it on her bow, pulled back and aimed at the first target, correcting for her movements. She shot the stones off of eachother, and continued, doing the same for the next targets.

Elrond was observing her intendly. “Your arrogance seems to have no foundation, son.” He said to Elladan without taking his eyes off Emma.

“As if you believed she could actually shoot a bow, much less a pile of rocks while riding.”

“I was polite enough to not show my doubt.”

Elladan nodded sourly, but remained quiet.

When she had hit all the targets, Emma rode back to the waiting elves, steering her horse next to them.

“I have nothing to add.” Elrond said. “If there wasn’t so much animosity between Thranduil and Thorin I would suggest you train with Legolas.”

Emma let out an amused ‘Ha’, but elaborated no further. She did not know how the relations between Rivendel and the Mirkwood were, and she had no desire to cause further problems between Thorin and Thranduil by gossiping about the latter.

With a small detour they start riding back to Erebor, Elrond riding next to Emma.

“So, the journey.”

She regretting saying anything about it, she should just have stayed quiet. But she had promissed. “One time, and no nagging about it afterwards and especially not telling it to Melo!” She warned him.

He nodded, so she starts.

“I joined, amongst other reasons, to get away from home and see something of the world. But after a week Thorin and I got into an…eeeh….altrication, and I left. But I did sign a contract stating that I would help them get the Arkenstone.”

“Arkenstone?”

“You know, that really shiny stone mounted into Thorin’s throne. It signifies his right to rule and binds all other dwarf clans to him. Anyway, I basically promissed to do my utmost best to steal the thing for Thorin, but leaving the company would not be doing that. So instead of riding with them, I rode to Erebor by myself with my guard, actually making better time than the company. There, I sent the guard away and snuck in. The Arkenstone was easily found, but I accidentaly woke up the dragon.”

“i would imagine it was accidental.” Elrond muttered.

“Do you want to hear the rest or not?” Emma said, annoyed.

Taking his silence as a ‘yes’ she continued. “So then that hypocritical beast began moving around and screaming about theft and what not, chasing me through the corridors, ripping open my leg. Luckily he decided to take his vengeance out on Laketown, where Bard shot him down. But my leg was really hurting, and I could not ride back home. So I put the Arkenstone in the entrance hall and hid in a nearby tower. But then, two days later or something, orcs were moving into the tower, and I was effectively trapped in a small attick on top of the tower.”

“Did they not smell you?” Elrohir asked curiously, not ashamed for evesdropping on the conversation.

“I traveled from a little before Rivendell to Erebor, I smelled like orc.”Emma answered, irritated by the interruption. “ Anyway, where was I? O yes, so I was sitting in this attick, suddenly seeing Bard and Thranduil and their armies moving in on Erebor, where the company had already found the Arkenstone and blocked the entrance. Shortly after Dain’s army came down from the hill, and I was secretly glad not to be in Erebor, but surrounded by orcs in an attick. But then the orcs started attacking from the mountains, and after a long while Thorin and his men also joined to fight, Thorin, Dwalin, Fili and Kili coming towards the tower I was in. I could not warn them, as I would give myself away, but then the big, pale one snatched Fili, whom was checking the tower, and held him up for Thorin to watch him die. They were standing right beneath me, the pale orc holding that ghastly knife that was attached to his arm against Fili’s back. Of course I could not let him die, so I jumped out of the attick and, after killing his guards, killed the pale orc. And then, when I tried to get out of the tower, some more on the stairs. But Thorin, Dwalin, Fili and Kili helped with that.”

She took a deep breath, having been breathless by the long story.

“And then?” Elrond asked curiously.

“Then I went home to get my leg stitched up.” She simply said.

“Surely you did not kill Azog the Defiler by yourself.” Elladan scoffed.

“Are you calling me a liar?!” Emma asked sharply.

“I just mean that perhaps you have embellished your story a little bit.” He said with a smug grin on his lips.

She clenched her jaw. “I did not embelish anything.”

“So you say that you took something from a dragon and lived to tell the tale and then killed the mightiest orc leader we have seen in millenia?! You are not even of age yet, you did not do that by yourself!”

“You know what, I don’t give a fuck if you believe me or not!” She hissed, and rode off, murmering under her breath.

Elrond and Elrohir looked at Elladan with great annoyance on their faces and also rode off, trying to keep up with Emma. But her horse was used to her, and their horses were not, so they lost sight of her. They were relieved to find the stablemaster brushing off her horse when they arrive at Erebor, but did not see her anymore.

 

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Stumping into her chambers, still terribly offended by Elladan, Emma was stopped by Thorin.

“Where have you been?!” he asked angrily.

“Riding with Elrond, Elladan and Elrohir.”

“You are not supposed to leave without taking guards!”

“You and Melo made me have these lessons, talk to yourself or my brother. Or Elrond for all I care, but don’t annoy me with this!”

“So it did not go well?”

“They are annoying, arrogant and curious nitwits.” She barked, and walked off to the bathroom.

Five minutes later she stepped into a deliciously hot bath and let the water wash away all her irritation.

 

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“I have never noticed the stone in your throne before walking through the throne room today, I do not recognize it as a specific type of stone, what is it?” Elladan asked Thorin. They were sitting at the dinner table in one of the smaller halls, as very few others beside Thorin, Fili, Kili, Balin, Dwalin and Elrond and his sons were having dinner so late.

“What do you want with my Arkenstone?” Thorin replied, becoming very suspicious about the elf informing after his most prized possesion.

“Emma just told us about it being lost while we were riding. I was curious, that is all.”

“Yes, without her I would not have it today.” Thorin said with a satisfied smile.

“So she actually stole it from the dragon?” Elladan continued his questions, ignoring warning glances from his father and his brother.

“Aye, she did.” Dwalin grinned. “Sending that nasty beast off to be shot by Bard.”

“But surely she did not kill Azog?” Elladan asked, wincing when his brother kicked him under the table.

“I would not be sitting here if she didn’t.” Fili said, thankfullness audible in his voice.

“You mean to tell me she actually killed Azog by herself, without any help?” Elladan said in disbelief.

“She told you the story, didn’t she? She told you the story and you didn’t belief her!  She tells you a story she hasn’t even told anyone here, and you didn’t belief her!” Everyone fell silent as Thorin spoke up in anger. “You are indeed a smug asshole!”

Thorin got up and walked away from the dinner table in anger, ordering one of the servants to bring his dinner to his chambers.

“I warned you not to underestimate her.” Dwalin said grumpily while everyone was looking reproachfull at the elves.

Balin scraped his throat. “Around here, it is quite offensive to doubt a story one is telling about one’s own actions. Especially if such a story is never told before.” He said tentatively to the elves, suspecting cultural differences might cloud the matter a bit.

“We offer our sincere apologies.” Elrond replied with a small bow of his head, and he wanted to continue eating. But then Elladan spoke up again. “Come on! Who could believe that such a girl actually stole form a dragon and kill an orc leader?! I still think you’re not telling the whole truth!”

The facial expressions of the dwarves present change from reproachfull to downright furious, but for once they did not immediately start a fight. Instead, they all got up and leave, whispering in Khuzdul to eachother.

~”Son, could you perhaps enlighten me as to why you seem to find it necessary to make enemies of our hosts, not to mention your sister?”~

Elladan let out a mocking huff. ~”She is no elf, and therefore not my sister! You just refuse to see it. She is disrespectfull, proud and arrogant, nothing like us; nothing like me. Just an entitled, spoiled brat!”~

Elrond’s hand twitched as his oldest son speaks, and he clenched his jaw in an attempt to compose himself. Slowly, he rose from his chair and walked away from his sons to refrain from saying anything he might regret later.

 

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When Thorin walked into the royal chambers, a servant carrying his dinner following him and placing the tray on the table in the antechamber before leaving the chambers, he found Emma sitting in the dinning room. She was reading some book in Sindarin, a language he never took the trouble of remembering after his lessons when he was young so he did not have a single clue what it was about, and making notes in it. He stood in the doorway for a bit, watching her. Though she was normally always dressed well, even her training outfit was matched and flattering, now she only seemed to wear a night gown and robe and red, thick woolen socks. He faintly smiled when she bit her lip, presumably thinking of something difficult. She looked like the young woman she was, and not the responsability laden queen she had to be.

But then she looked up and noticed him watching her, and a blush crept over her cheeks, which only reddened as she looked down at her socks and quickly tried to take them off.

“If you are doing that for my sake, by all means: keep them on.” He chuckled and he saw her struggling with the comfortable but perhaps not very flattering footwear.

She also smiled, though not as lighthearted as he did, but with a certain amusement nonetheless. “I thought you liked it when I take off my clothing?”

It was a clumsy attempt at sounding seductive, but he recognized it for what it was: Emma trying to initiate physical contact between them without actually taking the first step. But it was enough to make his blood heat up and he walked over to her. “I do, but I do not wish for my wife to get cold.”

They were standing in front of eachother now, though still about a meter apart. She pushed her robe and gown from her shoulders, and the flowy, souple material fell to the floor and pooled around her feet, leaving nothing but bare skin. She steped back to the table and gracefully sat on it, her mouth opened a little bit and her breathing heavier than normal, though not as heavy as his.

For a second he looked at her, admiring her, and then he quickly turned around and locked the dinning room door and strode back to the table, taking his clothes of as he walked. He cupped her face with both hands and kissed her passionately, a passion she matched, if not exceeded, when she softly bit his lower lip and ran her hands over his chest. He released his grip on her jaw and cupped her breasts with his hands, kneeding the soft but firm flesh and rolling her nipples between his thumb and index finger. Soft moans escaped her and she wrapped her legs around his waist. His member had already hardened to an almost painfull state, aroused by his wife’s sudden initiative, but he needed to know if she was ready for him. He put his hand on her sex and ran his middle finger down her slit, pressing it slowly but firmly inside of her when he reached her entrance. She gasped and her head fell back, giving him the exquisite opportunity to nibble at the sensitive skin of her neck while he trusted his finger in her.

“Thorin..” she pants.

That was all the encouragement he needed, and he pushes her down so that she was lying on her back on the table, her legs still wrapped around him. He pulled them from his waist and held them up by her ankles, spreading them so that she was completely open for him. He let go of her right leg to guide his member to her entrance, and then held it again as he burried himself to the hilt inside of her. She moaned and lifted her hips to meet his movement, and he started thrusting in and out of her, leaving only his tip inside before slamming into her again. He pushed her legs back and apart even further, and thrusted harder, pounding into her, his rapidly tightening balls slamming against her flesh with a deliciously raunchy sound. He started to groan as he felt her tightening around him, keening everytime he hit that sensitive spot inside of her, louder and louder untill she almost cried out her orgasm. He let go of her legs and bent over her, devouring her lips and holding her shoulders to push her closer everytime he pounded into her. Pleasure took over, and his mind became completely consumed with the pleasure he was experiencing untill he released himself with a loud groan, collapsing on top of her, unable to do anything but rest his head on her chest and try to regain his breath.

After several minutes he pushed himself up, kissing her swollen lips tenderly.

“I think you should wear woolen socks more often.” He whispered.

Emma just nodded, not quite looking at him.

“Is something wrong, azyungal? Did it not feel good for you, have I hurt you?” He fired the questions at her, worried about what was going on.

“It was—“Emma started, but then she fell silent again. “Unexpected.”

Thorin stood up and pulled her in a sitting position. He picked up her night gown and gently put it on her, followed by her dressing robe and then her socks. After that, he dresses himself again, observed by her. “If I am too forcefull, or too rough, or you just don’t like it, tell me Emma.” HE pressed a soft kiss on her lips and looked into her eyes. “Does it hurt somewhere?”

Emma shook her head. “No, it just seemed – different—than the other times.”

He hugged her and she put her head on his shoulder, hus face snuggled intot he crook of his neck.

“Let’s eat a bit, love. I had it brought here.”

The rest of the evening they chatted a bit, leaving heavier topics for what they were and just enjoyed eachothers company without the usual disturbances.


	17. Fighting

Thorin is awoken in the middle of the night by a cold spot besides him and soft cursing coming from the bathroom. He sits up and rubs his eyes, wanting nothing more than to just fall asleep again. But he gets up and knocks on the bathroom door.

“Emma, what are you doing?”

He hears something being knocked over and falling. “Just a minute, I will be right out.”

“Is everything alright?”

“Yes, yes, no, yes, just fine.” He hears his wife saying in a high pitched,

slightly panicked voice.

“Do you need help with anything, can I do something for you?” he asks, wondering what is going on in his bathroom in the middle of the night.

“Eeeeehm, could you just ring for one of my handmaidens?”

He rapidly blinks a couple of times, utterly confused, but does as he asked, and not much later a yawning Shana knocks on the bedroom door and enters silently. She looks at the king, whom is wearing nothing but his underwear, a bit shy and then walks to the bathroom. Thorin hears them whisper, and then Shana walks back out.

“May we have a moment, your highness?’ she asks softly.

Thorin, still not fully awake otherwise he would not have been ushered out of his own bedroom, meekly does as she says. A few minutes later he sees Shana leaving the bedroom as he is waiting in the antechamber, carrying a pile of laundry and leaving the royal chambers, only to come back after a moment, carrying a box and sheets. It is all rather strange, and he wonders if he is not still sleeping. But the cold from the stone floor beneath his feet assures him that he is not.

“All done, your highness, my apologies for the disturbance.”

He looks up and sees that Shana is leaving the royal chambers with a bow to him. He takes it as a sign that he can return to his bed, so he quickly does. He finds Emma already lying there with her back to his side of the bed and puts his arm around her.

“Dare I ask what that was about?”

“Nothing…” she says in a slightly higher tone than usual.

“If it was nothing, then why do you knock over half the bathroom, am I put out of my own bedroom and does your handmaiden walk in and out, all in the middle of the night? And why are our sheets changed?”

“I..eeeerm….I might have…eeerm…you know…”

“I really don’t.”

“I have—you know---eeeh…female…eeeh…”

Then it dawns on him, and he chuckles a bit.

“And you have to be so secretive about it?”

“I did not think you would appreciate a detailed description.” She whispers, thankfull that her blush is unseen by him in the dark bedroom.

“You don’t have to be ashamed about it. My sister used to exclaim it loudly for all to hear, probably to warn us to stay away from her and not do anything that might in the slightest upset her.” He says, trying to comfort her.

He feels her laugh a bit. “Should I be worried about that with you? I mean, should I do or not do anything?” he asks tentatively.

She shakes her head and says after a while: “It would be nice if you could give me some excuse not to go riding or training with Elrond.”

“You know he will just think of some other lesson.”

“Some other lesson would be fine, just not riding or training.”

“Why? Is this not to get out of seeing him?”

She sighs, but he does not know if it is from irritation or something else untill she explains: “No, it is just…eeeeerm…it is rather….eerm….difficult to do physical excersize when…eeerm….I….you know.”

Her shame and discomfort from speaking about the subject is almost palpable, so he does not press any further. “I will tell him you can not train.” He says, and he strokes her hair untill he hears from her breathing that she has fallen asleep.

 

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The next morning he slips out of bed and lets her sleep a little longer, surprised that she is not up for her usual run yet untill he remembers what she had told him that night. He quietly gets dressed and makes his way to the dining hall for breakfast. There, he finds Elrond already eating, though not accompanied by his sons as he normally is. As the dining hall is rather empty, most having already eaten or not up yet, he takes a seat next to Elrond instead of sitting at the head of the table. Elrond looks up, a little surprised that Thorin has come to sit next to him, and bows his head slightly.

“I believe I owe you an apology.”

“I rather think your son does.”

“I have spoken to him, I believe he will talk with Emma later today.”

Thorin nods, not wanting to get into the subject further before he has eaten. “What were your plans for Emma’s lesson today?”

“I wanted to see what she can do with a sword.”

“Perhaps you can postpone that lesson a bit. She is not feeling too well and I believe something more theoretical instead of physical training would be better.”

Elrond’s face turns into a worried frown. “Is she ill? Should I send for a healer?”

“I don’t think that would be necessary. Just some easier lessons would suffice.”

“What does she have then?” Elrond asks, panic trickling through his voice.

“Just…eerm. ..a women’s thing, you know.” Thorin says, turning the slightest bit red.

But Elrond doesn’t see his embarassment through the relief that washes over him. “Aaaah, I see. I will take it into regard.”

Relieved he does not have to explain the matter further, Thorin turns to the plate of food that one of the servants has placed in front of him and starts eating. But his relief is short lived:

“Are dwarved women the same as elven women in this matter?”

Thorin looks up. “I have no idea how elven women are, so I can not say.”

“Do dwarven women….eeeerm….suffer from it?” Elrond explains his question further.

“I think it differs from woman to woman.” Thorin says hesitantly, and he turns back to his plate again, hoping it is clear that he really does not want to discuss this subject further, especially not when he is eating breakfast and trying to wake up.

“Right.” Elrond remains quiet for a while, thinking how he should phrase his question so he might get the answer he is looking for. As he is talking to a dwarf, and they are not known for understanding veiled words, he just puts it bluntly: “Should I expect Emma to be extra sensitive and should I act accordingly or not?”

Thorin looks up again, resigning to the fact that he will not be able to enjoy his breakfast peacefully this morning. “I really don’t know. We have not been married for that long.”

“I see. So will she be doing her other training as usual?”

“I don’t think so, but you can always ask her handmaidens.” Thorin says, hoping Elrond will actually do that and leave him to his breakfast.

“Thank you, I will do that.” Elrond says while getting up, not noticing the barely conceiled relieved smile on Thorin’s face.

 

A few minutes later, Elrond knocks on the door of the royal chambers, and is let in by one of the servants. “Is her highness up yet?” he asks.

“I believe she is getting dressed, my lord. Should I fetch one of her handmaidens for you?”

“Please.”

The servant knocks on the bedroom door and Jalila steps out, closing the door behind her. She looks at Elrond. “Yes?”

“I would like to ask her highness if she can join me for breakfast in my chambers.”

“Just a moment.”

Jalila goes back into the bedroom, and he hears muffled voices. A moment later, Jalila informs him that Emma will join him in his chambers shortly, and he walks back, ordering one of the servants outside his wing to bring breakfast for her highness. He takes a seat in the dining room and waits for Emma, whom arrives 15 minutes later, announced by the servant that is bringing breakfast.

She sits down and he pours her some tea, remembering how she likes it; with a lot of sugar.

“So Thorin told me you would prefer something less strenuous today.”

“Whatever you like, lord Elrond.”

He almost physically flinches when he hears her call him by his title, but does not comment on it and just nods. “So you already read and speak Sindarin and you have read a great deal of elven books. May I ask how come a dwarven princess acquired such knowledge?”

“Too much free time.” She cooly says, and takes a sip of her tea.

“Would it perhaps interest you to find out more of the history of our family?”

“I have already extensively studied the history of my family. It can be traced back all the way to Durin the Deathless, one of the seven dwarf fathers before whom there were no dwarves.”

“So you are also of the line of Durin?”

“I married Thorin, so I belong to his family now. His line is my line. Whatever may have been before my marriage does not matter now anymore.”

The underlying layer of her words does not go amiss on him, and he hesitates to push the matter further as he does not think he can bear any further rejection. “Perhaps we can study the history of the different elven lords and kings then. Shall we start tomorrow? I would like to talk to you about the battle a little more today.”

“Studying the history of elves is fine, but I already told you I do not wish to discuss the battle further. You wanted to know what happened, and I told you. End of story.”

“Your husband has told me you have not told the story to anyone else before.”

“No, I did not.”

“Why not?”

“Because then people will start asking all kind of questions, and it annoys me.” Emma says with a sweet smile.

“I see. Elladan will be by shortly to offer his apologies about what he said yesterday.”

Emma crooks an eyebrow. “I have already said I do not care for what he think of me; an apology is not necessary. Now please excuse me, I have obligations to attend to.”

And with that, she gets up and leaves the room, not giving Elrond the opportunity to say anything more. He looks at her when she leaves. One side of him wants to grab her arm and stop her, demand she stays with him longer. But another side knows she is like a butterfly; lighting one’s spirit when coming to sit on your hand, but impossible to keep with you, as its wings break even when held carefully between your hands.

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Emma walks back to her rooms and orders her handmaidens prepare a bath for her. She did not sleep well and just wants to have a hot bath and go back to bed, so that is what she does.

**“Your highness? Emma?”**

Emma hears her name beind whispered softly and opens her eyes, stretching herself with a very satisfied yawn.

**“Hmmm?”**

**”Your brother is here, he wishes to speak to you.”** Mina says, still whispering to let Emma wake up slowly.

**”Alright, I will be right out.”**

She brushes her hair and puts on a comfortable tunic with matching suede pants and then walks into the antechamber, expecting to see Melo. She is unpleasantly surprised however when she sees Elladan standing there with a face that looks like he just swallowed something very unpleasant.

**”That is not my brother!”** Emma scolds Mina. **”Go get Melo.”**

Mina swiftly walks out of the royal chambers, leaving Emma and Elladan standing there.

“Yes?” she asks him in an arrogant tone.

“I have come to apologize for my earlier remarks. I feel it is important that we get along as we will be seeing a lot of eachother for the coming week.”

Emma clenches her jaw as she hears the insincere tone the words are spoken in.

“I have not been made aware that we have some sort of appointment in the coming week.”

“I believe my father has agreed to you getting lessons about the history of several prominent elven families?”

“How does this concern you?”

“I will be giving the lessons.”

“I do not believe you being part of the lessons was agreed upon. Now please leave my chambers.”

Elladan smirks. “You have to spend at least one hour per day with us, and you already left early today, so keep our attitude to yourself.”

“Not with you, with your father. Now leave before I have you thrown out!”

“You’re such a little spoiled brat! You had your whole life handed to you on a silver platter, and now you are just toying with my father’s feelings, using him for your amusement while he actually puts time and effort into you!”

Elladan did not see Melo also entering the royal chambers, focussed only on venting his frustrations towards Emma, whom has become more and more angry hearing him rant.

“You have no idea what my life has been like, and no right whatsoever to comment on it!”

“What? Are you going to yell again? Tell your husband and brother to come here to speak on your behalf so you can run away?!” Elladan sneers.

That was a little bit too much for Emma to take and remain calm, and she indeed starts yelling at him, rather loudly for such a small girl. When Elladan starts shouting back about how spoiled she is and how her whole childhood has turned her into an unsufferable entitled bitch, the whole thing turns into a screaming match, and Melo intervenes.

“Lessons are cancelled untill further notice. Leave my sister’s chambers.” He says coldly to Elladan, and turns to Emma.

**”Are you alright, namad? Should I get you something?”**

**”No, I just can’t stand how he drives me mad, Melo!”**

**”I will make sure you don’t have to see him again, don’t worry. Now go have a walk or read or something. Take your mind off of him, he is not worthy of your worries.”**

**”Just get him away, nadad.”** she shrugs, and goes back into the bedroom, where she lies on the bed, unable to hold back the tears rolling over her cheeks.

 

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“My son has informed me Melo has cancelled all lessons with Emma. I don’t think I need to remind you what happens if the agreement is not upheld?”

Thorin looks up from the papers he was reading and sees Elrond standing in front of him. He has no idea what the elf is talking about and is growing quite weary with the whole agreement and it’s impact on his life.

“I have no knowledge of the agreement being cancelled.”

“Then I suggest you find out.”

Thorin sighs and gets up, jerking his head at Elrond to follow him. Together they walk to Melo’s chambers, where they are announced by a servant. Melo comes walking out of the study, his face darkening when he sees Elrond.

“Did you cancel Emma’s lessons?” Thorin gruffly asks.

Melo nods. “I did.”

“Why?”

“Because his son keeps upsetting Emma. He even called her an entitled bitch.”

Thorin’s eyes widen is appalment, and he turns to Elrond, looking at him accusingly.

“I do not believe such a thing has come to pass. I suggest we ask Emma.” The elf lord says, but with doubt in his voice.

The three men walk over to the royal chambers and while Elrond and Melo wait in the antechamber, Thorin enters the bedroom. There, he sees Emma lying on the bed, flicking angrily through a book, with dark streaks of make-up on her cheeks. When she sees him, she tries to wipe her cheeks, but he sits next to her and does it for her.

“Melo told me Elladan was rather rude earlier.”

She shrugs. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I can’t cancel your lessons if you do not confirm it is true, azyungal.”

“Do whatever you like, I’m not going anymore.” She crosses her arms over her chest and looks away from him.

Thorin wants to say something else, but he is interrupted by angry voices coming from the antechamber. When he gets up and sees what it is about, he finds that Elladan has joined his father and they are talking to eachother in not very hushed voices. He does not know what they are saying and from their tone, he can not be sure whether they are upset with eachother or with Melo.

~” She’s being a brat, again, father! Either leave her here or take her with you to Rivendell, but don’t hang around here and cater to her every whim! We’re better than that”~

But Elladan has not taken into account that if Emma speaks Sindarin, it is very likely Melo does also. The young dwarf becomes redder and redder with anger untill he bursts:

“You think my sister is a spoiled brat?! You think she has had everything handed to her?!”He bellowes, startling everyone present in the royal chambers.

He stumps to the bedroom and grabs Emma’s upper arm, dragging her out of her bed before Thorin can stop him. He pulls her with him when he takes big, angry paces back to the antechamber where Elrond and Elladan are still standing, their mouths hanging open with surprise.

**”Let go of me, Melo! What are you doing?! I don’t want to see them! Let go!”** Emma struggles to get lose from the iron grip her brother has around her arm, but he is both stronger and angrier than her, and he does not let go.

When he has taken her back to the antechamber, Thorin running after them, he puts her in front of him and holds his tight grip

“You think she has had such an easy life?! That it was all fun and games and everyone bending their will to hers?! Do you think she got these for fun?!” he shouts at Elladan.

When he says it, he pulls up her top, exposing her scarred back to Elrond and Elladan. They gasp in horror and surprise, and tears well up in her eyes by the humiliation her brother is putting her through. She finally manages to break lose from his hold and pulls down her t-shirt. Melo sees the pain and anger on her sister’s face, and he knows he has gone too far. When she quickly walks back to her bedroom, passing Thorin without looking at him, he wants to say something, wants to call her back, but he does not know what to say. The silence after she has slammed the bedroom door shut is deafening.

Melo looks at the elves, with a mixture of shame and rage. “If you insult my sister one more time, it will be the last thing you do!” He says to Elladan, and then walks out of the royal chambers, back to his own rooms.

Elladan looks at Thorin. “I---we---I---“ But he doesn’t get a chance to say what he wants, as Thorin already gruffly says: “Lessons are cancelled.” And also leaves the royal chambers.

With a jerk of his head, Elrond sends Elladan away. For a moment he hesitates, but then he walks to the bedroom and softly knocks on the door. There is no answer, so he slowly opens the door a little bit. He does not see Emma, but hears noises coming from the adjoining bathroom.

“Emma? It is Elrond.” He says while walking into the room and standing next to the bathroom door.

“I am currently indisposed. Please come back another time.” He hears her say in a thick voice.

“Emma, please….”

He hears water splashing and Emma moving around. When is about ready to give up, she opens the door and walks into the bedroom.


	18. Guilt

“What do you want, Elrond?”

“I’m sorry. For what Elladan said.”

“I do not need your pity. Especially not for the childish behavior of someone else.”

“I worry about you, Emma. Now more than I ever have.”

“It is not worry you feel, Elrond. It is guilt.”

Feeling humiliated by her brother exposing her past and furious by Elladan’s thoughtless behavior, Emma can not help herself. She does what she is best at: coldly exposing someone’s weak spot. And off course, it also works this time. But Elrond is no stranger to it and even though he is hurt, he does not turn away as others would.

“Should I feel guilty?”

“Only you know what you feel. But in any case, I am not here to take it away. I am not some sort of a project you can use so you feel better about yourself when you leave after Durin’s day.”

“No. You are not. You are my daughter. You are my flesh and blood, and it hurts me to see you hurt.”

Her eyes widen a bit, taken back by hearing him calling her his daughter outloud, and she is chewing the inside of her cheek again. He leans forward and softly puts his hand on her upper arm. For a moment, neither of them moves or speak, but then she pulls away, turning her back to him.

“Look at me Emma. Look at me and tell me how I can help you.”

She turns around. “You can tell me the truth. You can tell me what you actually want from me. You keep coming to my home, my personal space, I don’t have the energy to play games here. This is not about revenge or some political influence anymore, this is about my life. And right now, you are ruining it!”

“Oh Emma…..All I want is a fair chance from you. And then I can only hope that you will want to spend time with me some day.”

Emma walks over to the balcony doors, opening them slowly. As she stands in the doorway, Elrond looks at her. She is wearing beige suede riding pants and a soft woolen tunic that falls to her knees. He sees her small frame and he can’t help but think of a little, frail bird. A bird that has fallen from the nest. In this moment, he regrets what he has done, or has failed to do, more than ever. Pain is roaring through his chest, threatening to devour him. He tears his gaze from Emma, bending his head and looking to his side.

“Please. I can’t take this anymore. Your whole life I have been looking forward to getting you back, to be a family again. And therein lies my fault. I waited. I didn’t act.”

Emma turns around and takes a wollen shawl matching her tunic. She puts it partly over her head and wraps it around her shoulders.

“I’m sorry, I can’t do this right now. I need some fresh air.”

And with that, she swiftly leaves the room through the passage ways. He doesn’t follow her, he knows neither of them can give the other one what they need at this moment. She keeps going, making turn after turn, untill she opens a small door near the stables. She swiftly walks through the hallways, ignoring curious looks she is getting from the servants and nobles she passes. Not untill she reaches the stables, she knows what she wants. At her request, the stablemaster readies her horse, and she jumps on.

“You know you are not supposed to leave without an escort, your highness.” The elderly stablemaster tentatively says. “His highness was not happy that I let you go alone last time.”

“I will take care of that myself, thank you stablemaster.” She answers curtly, and she rides off.

Five minutes later she urges the horse to go full speed and she feels the wind going hitting her right in the face. Her eyes tear up from the sudden coldness and she pulls her shawl closer around her. It is to little avail, but she minds little. The cold clears her head, blows away all the things that don’t matter.

 

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“Send out two companies right away and have messengers keep me updated!”

Messengers, army commanders and servants are frantically running in and out of the king’s public study, where he himself is discussing the best plan of action with Fili, Kili and Balin. Several warg scouts had been seen in the vicinity and his own scouts had reported of around 200 orcs and goblins on Erebor outer grounds. They are probably small groups that have survived the battle and are coming south again now that winter is nearing.

But Thorin is very unwilling to host them on his lands, nor on his neighbours lands, so now soldiers are preparing to sweep their grounds of the unwanted intruders.

“And get Elrond in here for me. Immediately.”

One of the servants that had patiently been waiting in the study for a task to be appointed to him immediately starts running ot the elf lord’s chambers, where he informs him of the king’s request to see him at once. Elrond gets up from the chair he had been drinking tea in and, accompanied by Elladan and Elrohir, follows the servant. They notice all the people running around, and wonder what is going on. But before they can ask the servant, they have arrived at the study and the servant announces them.

“I need you to stay with Emma for the rest of the day, Elrond. We have a small orc invasion on our lands and I do not want her to join us when we ride out.” Thorin says without even looking up from the map he was studying.

“Sure, I can……O no, they are on Erebor lands?!” The panic in Elrond’s face causes Thorin to be immediately alarmed.

“They are, why?”

“Emma said, she left, she needed some fresh air……” Elrond replies appologetic, almost pleading.

Thorin jumps up, shouting at servants and messengers to get his horse ready and put his armour on him, panic trickling through his normally stern and composed voice.

“We’ll come. We’ll split up so we can find her faster.” Elrond says, turning to Elladan and Elrohir, telling them to also get his and their armour.

A mere five minutes later they are all gathered at the stables. It is decided that Thorin will lead a comany of soldiers and search for her with them, while Elrond, Elladan and Elrohir have decided to ride out alone in the hopes of stretching more grounds.

 

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She feels a tingle in the nape of her neck, the small hairs just below the hairline standing up. But when she looks around, she does not see anything. She has to, reluctantly, admit to herself that she is not quite feeling comfortable. The wind, that felt cleansing on her face, now makes her feel cold and alone. She reaches in her saddlebag and to her relief the stablemaster has put her bow and sword in it. She turns the horse around and starts riding back to Erebor.

After a few moment, she sees a rider approaching her from the distance. She focusses on him , trying to see who it is, but then she sees something moving from the corner of her eye. A warg jumps out of the bushes and with one move of it’s paw, he hits her horse from under her, causing her to be catapulted of it.

Elladan sighs in relief when he finally sees Emma riding towards him. Combined with seeing the evidence of her difficult childhood, his panick in the moments between realising Emma was outside while orcs are roaming the lands and seeing her has made him realise that perhaps he doesn’t find her as detestable as he previously thought. But his sigh turns into a gasp when she is catapulted of her horse and rolls over the ground. He kicks his horse in the flanks trying to get to her faster, hoping she is still alive. When he nears, he sees her sitting up and shaking her head, probably to get rid of dizziness. Then, she jumps up and runs back to her horse, taking her sword out of it’s saddlebag.

When he reaches her, a band of about 20 orcs and a warg is approaching. The smell makes him nauscious, reminding him of the fight he and his brother had to free his mother. They succeeded, but she left anyway. He makes a miniscule shoulder jerk, shaking off the memories so he can focuss on the fight at hand. It had been foolish of them to split up, it means no one can be send back to get help. They are on their own. The first thing he does is kill the warg with one clean shot, so they don’t hae to worry about the beast attacking them anymore. By the time it hs fallen, he has reached Emma and without thinking about it, he stands in front of her, protecting her by putting his left arm in front of him while he holds his sword in the right. They share no words, but he feels her looking at him.

“Well boys, we’re in luck! It’s the Durin whore!” the biggest and ugliest orc roars. His face is so crooked that it almost looks like it consists of two different halves which are glued together asymetrically. His skin is covered with strange, tumorlike protuberances and his teeth are so rotten it looks like he has none.

Altough he is not looking at her, Elladan feels Emma has a very arrogant smile on her face. Her disdain is tangible to him and he does not know wether it is a good or a bad thing. But then she steps away from behind his arm.

“You talk too much, orc, just like that pale bastard.”

“You dare speak of him, Durin whore? You find yourself worthy enough to do that?” The orc scoffs.

“I was worthy enough to send him back to the hell he came from.”

“You!”

“I.” Emma says with an amount of arrogance that reminds Elladan of Thranduil. “Now get on with it, you motherless mongrel.”

The orcs approach as one man and Elldan wants to pull Emma behind him again, but she pushes his arm away.

“You take the horse and ride back to Erebor.” He grunts at her.

“I will be shot before I can get on that horse.”

“Don’t you see it?! We can’t win this!”

“Probably not. But better to fall fighting than running. And hey, who wants to live forever anyway?” She says with an amused smile and a shoulder shrug.

He looks at her with astonishment. This isn’t some naive teenage notion of prevailing and riding of victoriously, this is willingness to die. He is unfamiliar with it; most elves are not so willing, preferring to sail of to the undying lands to join their kin and friends.

However, he does not have more time to marvel at his thoughts, as the orcs attack. All he can do is slay as many opponents as he can and try to keep Emma behind him, out of range of the orcs. But then he sees the flashes of a sophisticated weapon next to him, not a crude iron orc sword, but dwarven quality, and he knows she did not stand back.

Instead, Emma threw herself at the fight head first. She does not fear death, and deep inside she knows she would welcome it at some level. It would lift the burden off her shoulders, take the worry away. But her survival instinct kicks in, and before long, Elladan and her have defeated most of the orcs. Only two remain, the ugly one and a large Gundabad orc. Elladan takes on the Gundabad one while the ugly one charges at Emma. He is much more skilled than she had belived him to be, and determinded at that, so the victory is not easily gained.

Elladan has finished off the Gundabad orc, and now comes to Emma’s aid. But when he ends the orc’s life with a precise blow of his sword, it takes one final lash at Emma and cuts into her left thigh, dying with a grin on his lips.

As soon as his corpse hits the ground, Emma stumbles over to her horse. The animal is heaving to get air, its legs limp and his eyes wide. She looks at the horse’s broken legs and knows she has to put the poor thing out of it’s misery. But she has gone through a lot with it, and it was a gift from Melo. She clenches her jaw and jerks her head a little bit and then strokes the horse’s nose one last time before quickly slitting it’s throat.

She pants heavily, sadness roaring through her. But then she notices the pain in her leg, similar to a pain she has felt before, and she looks down. There is a big gash, blood trickling out of it, and the pain increases rapidly as the adrenaline leaves her body. She looks up and sees Elladan standing next to her.

Emma closes her eyes and a small moan and a curse leave her lips. “I need you to get me back to Erebor before anyone finds out I left.”

“Everyone already knows. Why did you think I came after you?”

“Shit!’ she curses, both for the pain and the predicament she is in. “He’s going to kill me!”

“They are all dead, none are left.”

“Never mind.” She mumbles, now clenching on to her leg.

“Come on, let me bring you back.” Elladan picks her up and carries her to his horse. He puts her sideways on the saddle and then gets on himself.


	19. Not knowing

“You have not spoken to your mother yet. Why?”

“I have no mother.”

Elladan sighs. “Fine. You have not spoken to Eliana yet. Why?”

“Why would I speak to her?”

“You speak to father.”

“He is not my father.”

“Stop being so obstinate. Why do you speak to Elrond but not Eliana?”

“Because he has an agreement that states I have to and she doesn’t.”

“Melo and Thorin have declared it null and void, but you still spoke to him afterwards, this afternoon. Why?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Because I normally know people, know what to expect of them. But I don’t know with you. You act like a spoiled brat around my father, but yet you have the determination to learn and the willingness to acquire new skills.”

“You take advantage of me being injured and unable to leave.”

“I do. I want answers.”

“Perhaps that could be the reason that I do not want to talk to you or your family. The only thing you do is corner me, force me to spend time with you.”

“My father asked, Thorin and Melo agreed. They cornered you.”

“Your father threatened to cancel the wedding. That’s not asking, that’s blackmail.”

“So you don’t like father because you are being forced to spend time with him”

“I am not discussing this. Not now, and especially not with you.”

“Why not?”

“I have other things on my mind.”

It suddenly dawns on him. She is showing a whole new emotion he has never seen in her. “You are afraid, aren’t you?” he doesn’t get it. They are on their way back to Erebor, he can already see the entrance in the distance, and her leg, annoying as it may be, will be fine. So what is she afraid of?

“Why are you afraidf? Orcs don’t scare you, you showed no fear just now. You only started feeling afraid when we started to ride back to…..Aaaah, I see.”

“I am not supposed to leave by myself.” She admits.

“You don’t give him enough credit.”

“My husband or my brother?”

“Both. Either. They love you.”

Emma sighs and looks of in the distance. With every step the horse takes, Erebor comes nearer and she knows both Thorin and Melo will be livid. She should have listened to them, but she didn’t.

“They love me to a certain point. For one I am a trade commodety and for the other I am a means to an end.”

“And you are certain about this because..?”

“Actions speak louder than words.”

“Aaaah, now we get to the core of it. Thorin needed assurances you can give him children before you married, so he doesn’t love you for you. Melo agreed to the marriage, gaining him valuable trade agreements and the favor of the mightiest dwarf king, so he doesn’t love you for you. And then my father. He left you and only came for you at the eve of your wedding, which he tried to stop. So he doesn’t love you.”

“Your cold analysis of my life almost makes me want to arrive in Erebor.”

“You’re in luck, the scouts are already riding towards us.”

He feels her stiffen up and sees her face change into the marble mask he had been used to see. He gets it now; he sees it. She is just a girl that has too many responsabilities and too many people telling her what to do. He wants to ask her more, wants to know more, but the scouts already join them.

“Is her highness alright, my lord?”

“She is. Please inform his highness and her brother of this.”

“They are already waiting for her, my lord.”

When they ride into the stables, Thorin, Melo, Balin, Elrond and Elrohir come running to them. Thorin lifts Emma of the horse, looking at her like he is inspecting her. Instead of putting her down, he holds her in his arms and carries her to the healing hall, closing the doors to the hall behind him, shutting everyone else out.

 

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“What will he do to her?” Elladan fearfully asks Balin.

He looks up to to the elf that is still on his horse, making the difference in height even bigger.

“Do to her?”

“She---he said she couldn’t leave by herself.”

Balin scoffs. “If you would know the history between Thorin and orcs, you would know he is not angry, he was just worried to death.”

“History?” Elrohir asks.

“Azanulbizar.” Is the simple answer he gets, Elrond nodding knowingly.

But Elladan and Elrohir don’t know, and they look at Balin questioningly.

“We lost many, many familymembers and friends that day. Thror, Thorin’s grandfather, was killed and Thrain, Thorin’s father, went missing or mad, we didn’t know. We only heard of his fate after we got Erebor back and it was too late. Azog the Defiler took him to Dol Guldur and kept him prisoner for many a decade, only killing him when Gandalf went there to find out more about the witchking. That’s what Thorin saw when Emma was alone out there with orcs roaming our lands, not anger over her leaving by herself.”

 

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Thorin sighs in relief when the healers tell her it is just a flesh wound and holds her hand when her leg is being stitched, all the while not saying anything. When everything is done, he sends the healer away and turns to Emma.

“Do you have any idea I worried I was? Do you think I tell you not to leave Erebor just to spite you, to annoy you?”

He kneels next to her, cupping her face in his large hands, his thumb running over her cheek.

“I can’t lose you. Please, don’t do this to me again.” He pleads.

She gazes down, For once, she is completely willing to admit she was wrong. “I’m sorry, Thorin.”

He lowers his head a little bit, catching her gaze. “I was so worried.” He murmers, and then softly presses his lips to hers.

She looks at him, trying to find out what this is. His behavior has surprised her, she thought he would be rather upset, but instead he seems genuinely concerned.

“Do I have to stay here?”

“I don’t think so. I presume you would like to avoid Melo and Elrond?”

She presses her lips together and gingerly nods.

“You know you can’t avoid them forever, right?” he says with an amused smile.

“Please take me to our chambers, Thorin. Please?” He knows exactly what she is doing, but can’t refuse her anyway. So they take one of the passageways and are in their room soon enough.

There, he carefully lies her on the bed and lies next to her. He runs his hands over her body and pulls her tunic up and over her head. His worry for her has made him desperate to feel er under him, to hear her hartbeat and to see her blood pumping through her veins. He places open mouth kisses at her neck and chest, tasting the hint of salt on her skin. Emma slowly pulls on the laces of her corset, pulling them out one hole at a time, slowly revealing what is beneath it. When he is waiting for her to open the corset and take it off, he slowly strokes his erection through his trousers, hardening it to a state where it is almost unbearable to wait. Impatiently, he tugs at the laces that are almost painfully restraining him. Emma kisses him passionately and he wants to open her pants as well. But she pushes his hands away and instead strokes him. He places his hand on hers, showing her the rhytm, the pace. His hips buck against her hand

“Emma…..azyungal…yes..” he moans, right before he explodes in her hand.

He needs a few moment to regain his breath and then he gets up to get her a rag to clean her hand.


	20. Ledger

*Five weeks later, in which Galadriel and Eliana have left, much to Emma’s relief, and Emma and Elrond seem to be getting closer.*

 

“I think it is better to wait with out swordfighting lessons untill tomorrow. I believe the extra day of rest will do you good.”

After being injured, Emma had not been able to do any training, so Elrond had had to postpone their swordfighting lessons. And although the time they spent together could be described as nice, friendly even, he had not been able to get to know Emma more than what could be seen on the surface. Elladan has told him about the conversation he had had with Emma when he brought her back to Erebor, and it gave Elrond food for thought. She had every right to be upset with him for leaving her, off course, but he wanted to show her that the matter was not about him not loving her.

“You have been saying that for the past ten days. Do you not wish to teach me?”

“It is not that. Not as such.”

He hesitates, trying to find the right words. But there are none that can vail this matter to make it easier on the ears, so he just says it.

“I find myself unable to train you. I am too afraid I might hurt you.”

“But—what? That’s not fair! You have been promissing for over a week!”

“And I will think of a suitable alternative. But now I need to speak with you about something I have been thinking about for a while now. I have the feeling that we have gotten to know eachother better over the past weeks, and that you feel more at ease in my company.”

It is not a question, and Emma does not yet see where this is going, so she waits.

“I want you to be my daughter.”

“I believe you already said that I am.”

“I want it to be official.”

This is very unexpected, and for a split second Emma raises her eyebrows in surprise. But then she composes herself again.

“Do you know what that would mean?”

“Yes. It means that I am officially your father. It means you are part of my family. It means you can sever your ties to members of your old family whom you do not wish to see anymore.”

“It also means that Eliana’s infidelity becomes public knowledge. It means Melo’s position will become unstable. It means there might be opposition to me being queen of Erebor, what would make my marriage unstable. And it means to my future children’s claim to the throne may be doubted.”

“You speak politics.”

“Everything is politics here.”

“If I were to do it, how would I go about it?”

“You should ask Balin.”

“If it wasn’t for the politics, would you want me to do it?”

It is nice to feel that he actually wants her as his daughter, valued for herself, not for what she can do or how she can be used in a complicated game of chess. But somehow it also feels like deceit towards Melo. They would not be able the trace their lineage in the same way anymore; women don’t count in lineage, so it would be like they are not really family anymore.

“Is it me that causes you to doubt?” Emma looks up, disturbed in her thoughts by Elrond’s softly spoken question.

She slowly shakes her head. “No.”

“Melo?”

Emma sighes. “It is….In dwarven culture, one’s lineage is determinded by the father or other male relatives, but never the mother. Women are often not mentioned in lineages or history. Officially, Melo and I are family now, that would change. Could change.”

“And would the two of you feel different?”

“No. But that doesn’t mean things wouldn’t change.”

“You are not telling me everything, are you?”

Emma rubs her face. “I was supposed to finally have sword practice now, not explain all this! It is complicated, alright. Melo only controls the army right now, but there are bigger plans, future plans. Discuss it with Thorin, Melo and Balin.”

“I want to know what you want. If it weren’t for politics or anyone else, would you want me to?”

Elrond notices how her facial expressions becomes softer, almost vulnerable, like the times he looked at her while she was unaware of his presence. She chews on the inside of her cheek, a nervous habit she seems to have.

“Perhaps.”

“Why would you not want it?” his question is not asked in an angry of offended wat, but merely to find out the reasoning behind her evasive answer.

The softer features in her expression that he had been looking at disappear again, being replaced by the stone mask.

“You left me.”

“And why would you want it?”

“You’re asking for it.”

“So I am.” Elrond nods and gets up. “I’ll think of a way to teach you swordfighting, Emma, I promiss.”

As he walks away, Emma looks at him, wondering what he will do, and why he wants to do it in the first place. She does not completely trust his words, she never trusts words, they are so easily spoken, but a tiny part of her likes what he said. She would like the circumstances to be different, to be unhindrerd by the bound of station and politics. But she knows it is not so, and that Thorin and Melo will refuse him. And he can not even speak to the dwarvencounsel without their help. It is a useless venture, but a nice gesture.

 

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“Lord Balin, might I speak with you for a moment?”

Balin looks up from the treasury reports he was studying and sees Elrond standing in his doorway. He does not particulary dislike the elf lord, even feels a little endebted to him for abusing his hospitality while visiting Rivendel on their journey, but does not particulary like him either.

“Certainly, lord Elrond, what may I do for you?”

“You seem t be the one I should turn to regarding administrative matters.”

Balin nods. “I am a bit of an authority in this particular area, yes.”

“What would I have to do in order to make Emma officialy my daughter?”

Balin flinches. The question is posed so simply, so…..easily. Does he have any idea what it actually means?

“Ahum. Eeeerm, have you perhaps, eeeerm, spoken to the king or prince Melo about this?”

“No, I have not yet. I first wish to know if it is possibe and what it would entail.”

“Perhaps I should explain a little more what it would mean.”

“I would be much obliged.” Elrond keeps a polite and emotionless posture, not wishing to share his actual feelings with many.

“Let me start with saying it is possible. There are a few instances where it has happened before. But only a very few. You see, family and lineage is everything for us dwarves and we are very proud of our lineages. We keep them in an archive called ‘The ledger’, situated in the Iron Hills. There, the family tree of every dwarf is kept, and all changes are noted. If a dwarf is not in the ledger, than he might as well not exist. But the thing is, most records are kept along the father’s line. So if a father is not dwarven, then very few records of a half-dwarf will exist. The half-dwarf is barely visible in the family trees.”

“And what of the mother’s lines?”

“The half-dwarf will be visible in those, of course. Though they are not kept nor known as well as the father’s lineage.”Balin sighs. He finds it very difficult to explain these matters to a non-dwarf. He could never describe the feelings that are involved with lineage, nor could he make it clear to Elrond what it would mean to a dwarf to be diminished to just the mother’s line in the ledger.

“And the lineage of the family in law?”

“Yes, yes she would be visible in that as well.”

“So what would I have to do?”

“You need to convene the dwarven counsel, what you can only do through Thorin, as he is king. One of Emma’s male relatives also needs to be present. You need their and, more importantly, Thorin’s permission. The dwarven counsel will then make a judgement.”

Balin decides to leave all the uproar and sentiments around it out of the explanation. Elrond does not seem too interested and it would be nearly impossible to explain.

“So I would have to talk to Thorin and Melo first?”

“Yes. That would be the very first step. If they agree, what I highly doubt, Thorin will convene the counsel and speak on your behalf.”

“I can not plead my own case?”

“No. You are not a dwarf, so yöu can not appear before the counsel.”

“And Emma?”

“She will be represented by Thorin.”

“She can also not appear before the counsel?”

“Women are usually represented by their nearest male relative.”

Elrond is highly annoyed by yet another example of female dwarves being treated inferior to male dwarves but he does not show it. Instead, he tilts his head and leaves Balin’s office.

 

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Thorin stares into the heart, his thoughts as uncontrolled as the dancing flames. When he can tear his gaze away from the fire, he sees Melo staring at the wall and Elrond looking at the both of them.

“Did Balin---Has he---Do you know the implications of what you ask? For Emma, but alsof or Erebor and for Melo?” he finally asks Elrond.

“Balin has explained the procedure, and the importance of lineage, yes.”

Melo’s head jerks toward sthe elf. “So you understand what you would do to Emma if you go through with this?!” he spits out.

“I would give her a correct lineage.”

Before Melo can say anything, Thorin cuts in. “I suggest we get Emma in here.”

“No! I will not have her burdened with this!” Melo is positively fuming, highly annoyed by the elf and his proposterous propositions.

“It is not really a suggestion, Melo.” Thorin walks to the door and orders one of the servants waiting outside of it to fetch Emma.

Five minutes later she walks in, still in her training clothes; white leather pants and a matching cashmere tunic. When she enters the room, she knows immediately what it is about, and sees that Melo and Elrond have very different views on the matter. Thorin’s opinion however is not that easy to read from his face or posture. She will have to wait for that. She sits down on the dark leather sofa and curls her legs under her, leaning against the high side of the highly comfortable piece of furniture.

“Elrond has come to ask us to support him requesting a change in the ledger. Before I even start forming an opinion on this matter, I need to know how you feel about this.”

Emma wants to answer him, but is cut off by Melo. **”Don’t even think about it, namad! Do not go against me in this!”**

Emma purses her lips and looks from Melo to Thorin to Elrond and back. **”Why does it matter if I go against you? Your ‘nay’ would mean the premature end of the request.”**

**”Do you want me to say no?”**

She looks down at her hands, making an effort to keep herself from fidgeting. **”No.”**

**”You stupid girl! Do you have any idea what it means?!”** Melo shouts, pacing around the room.

“Why don’t you have this discussion in the common tongue. Your arguments should be heard by all present.” Thorin says.

“This is statebusiness.” Melo grunts at him.

“No, this is yelling at my wife, and I will not stand for it.” Thorin says calmly.

“You know what we have discussed before you got married, namad. Do I need to remind you of the future?”

**”It does not…”** Emma corrects herself, almost automatically speaking their own language to her brother. “It is not influenced by this.”

“That is where you are wrong! The whole insura….thing of it will fall away by this!”

Emma’s mind is working overtime, trying to predict possible outcomes, possible reactions from others. She chews her cheek, she tilts her head, she even fidgets, but she can not seem to come to a conclusion.

“I take it you want Elrond to make the request then, azyungal?”

Her husband’s question takes her out of her thoughts, and she slowly looks up to him. “I----eeerm—I—“ She squints her eyes and then opens them again, registering Elrond’s intent, hopefull, look at her. After taking a deep breath, she says: “I am not the only party involved in or influenced by this decision, so I can not make this decision by myself. I shall leave it to your judgement, thanu men.”

All three men look at Emma with a very surprised expression; it is not like her to let others make the decision. Thorin is the first one to recover:

“And if no other parties were involved?”

Melo wants to speak up but a wave from Thorin keeps him silent.

“Then I---“ Another long pause, in which she stares into the heart as her husband did just minutes before. “Then I would want it.” she finally utters, avoiding Melo’s look.

**”Look at me, Emma.”**

She turns her head to him, though still not looking him straight in the eye.

**”I know you want a father, love, a family, and I want you to have it. But this could potentially ruin a more influential future for you. Do you want Sindor or his children to rule after me?”**

“Common!” Thorin grunts, frustrated that he can not hear all arguments in such an important matter. Emma does not comply however, instinctively knowing this is not something to speak about with anyone else than her brother.

**”If everyone thinks of themselves, everyone is thought of. And right now, I will think of myself.”**

Melo turns to Thorin, his face almost crimson in anger. “This is what you get if you give women too much freedom! Do as you wish, I have no choice but to support you, but know the consequences will be on you and yours!” he stumps out of the study, slamming the door shut behind him with such force that the cups on the table tremble.

“What did he mean by that, Emma?” Thorin has turned from looking at the door back to her, one eyebrow now raised.

“He means---It is---I can not discuss this. It is something between him and me.”

“And have you considered the consequences for Erebor?”

“I believe I have opened a room full of trapdoors.” Elrond says before Emma can speak. “I just don’t understand what the traps are!”

“If it is officially on record that Emma has unpure blood, a claim to the throne by our son may be disputed, especially since---Well, it may cause problems.”

“Another trapdoor I am not aware of?” Elrond says sarcastically, knowing something else is hidden from him.

But neither Thorin nor Emma is willing to speak about the child Thorin is soon to have with his former consort. The silence presses on them for nearly half an hour, all consumed by their own thoughts. Emma doubts herself and her decision. It would negatively influence many people, perhaps even change the course of succession. Thorin wonders whether he should give this to his wife. He knows part of what has happened during her childhood, and can imagine the other part, and knows that it would be good for her to feel the love of a parent; even when she still has mixed feelings about it. But he also knows his responsabilities as king. Everyone unofficially knowing she is of mixed blood is one thing, it being made official knowledge may send his kingdom into a succession war if he dies. But it is Elrond whom doubts the most. He is starting to feel that his desire to make his relation to Emma offical would have a huge negative effect on her and the people around her. He is also the one to break the silence.

“I did not know the size of my request before I made it. However, this is now becoming more clear to me. I do not wish to create bad blood, so perhaps it would be better to wait a while before coming to a decision on this matter.”

Emma jerks her head to him, her eyes dark and her mouth a thin line. But she does not say anything.

“I think that would be best. Several influencing factors are not yet known at this moment, so a respite from making a decision would be most welcome.” Thorin diplomatically says.

“Then that is what we shall do.” Elrond says diplomatically, and he gets up and leaves the study.

 

“Did you want this, azyungal?” Thorin tentatively asks Emma when Elrond has closed the door behind him and he has taken a seat next to her, pulling her closer so she lies with her head on his lap.

She looks into the fire again, and only hums in answer to his question. He sits next to her and pulls her into his embrace. He does not notice the full extend of her disappointment untill he feels a lone, warm tear dripping from her cheek on his hand. Nothing he can say or do will make her feel better, so he just pulls her to him closer.


	21. Presents

The next morning, Emma skips her run and sleeps in a little bit. When she wakes up, she can not remember going to bed. But then she recalls that she and Thorin had been lying on the sofa in his study so she reckons she must have fallen asleep on it. She calls for her maidens and gets dressed. Then, she walks to the practice area and sees Elladan and Elrohir training with Dwalin again. It is an entertaining fight, but it is clear that Dwalin has more skill, since he can take them on both at the same time.

When they see her, they come to sit next to her, all three panting heavily.

“Feeling better, lass?” Dwalin asks.

“I think so.”

“Ready to start again?”

“I can take all three of you on, with one hand.” She laughs

“Want to try?” Elladan says with a mischievous smile.

“I think I will skip that one for now. Or could I perhaps appoint a champion to fight in my stead?”

They laugh. “In three days you will have as many champions as you could wish for.” Dwalin says.

“What do you mean?”

“In the matches. All warriors will asks if they may fight in your name and honor.”

“I did not know that. How do I decide whether to say yes or no?”

“You can only choose one, so you will have to choose wisely.”

“But I do not know them or their skills!”

“You know some of them. Fili and Kili will be entering. I will also. And Elladan here will probably also, if Thorin gives his permission.”

“And Thorin?”

“No, as a king, he can not anymore. But before he always won, quite frustrating really!”

Emma looks at him. “So who to choose then?”

“That is the privilege of a queen. But my money is on Fili.”

“Kili is really good with a bow.”

“No bows in the matches. Only swords. And no protection.”

“Right. So you will all kill eachother untill there is only one left?”

“We fight with blunt swords. But hey, accidents happen.” He grins.

“Lovely to know. Elladan, do you have any recommendations to prevent me from making a fool of myself?”

“Myself of course! No one better!”

“And yet I see Dwalin beating the two of you.”

“That is because my brother is holding me back. And because I don’t have a decent sword. We lost ours during an orc raid.”

“So I should stake my reputation on a swordless warrior?”

“Right, I see your point.” He grins.

Emma sighs. “Yet another thing for me to think about. I wish I would just have one day without any problems.”

“You’re the queen now, lass. If you wanted problem-free, you should have married Kili. A tiltle without responsability.”

“Then I would have to worry about him all the time.” Emma snickers.

“Wait, you were supposed to marry Thorin’s nephew?” Elrohir asks in utter astonishment.

Emma turns a little red and glances angrily at Dwalin. “No, not as such. An allience was to be made between my family and the Durin line. I was sent here so it could be decided whom I wanted to marry.”

“And you chose Thorin?”

“No, he chose me.”

“I don’t think we are familiar with marrying this way.” Elladan says.

‘It is difficult to explain, but it isn’t as crude as it sounds.” Emma says. “But now I have to get on.”

“Where are you going?’ Dwalin asks. “Do you need help with something?”

“You just want me to choose you, Dwalin, suck up!” Emma laughs as she walks away.

 

As she has left, Elladan and Elrohir look at Dwalin. “So she was sent here so Thorin and his nephews could decide who wanted her? Like an apple at the market?”

Dwalin sighs, he knows he should have kept his mouth shut. “No, not like that. They all knew eachother from the quest, and Thorin and Emma even long before that, and her father wanted to make an allience between the two kingdoms. But some things had happened on the quest, and Thorin did not want to force her to marry any of them. So he suggested to send her here to make a better decision. That has been spun in her father sending her here so Thorin and his nephews could chose.”

“What was the altercation Emma and Thorin got into about? She never said?” Elrohir asks.

“Not my story to tell, lads. Now come on, I’m not done with the two of you.”

 

Emma is walking to the treasury , hoping to find Balin. She knocks on the door and then enters.

“Emma! Are you already feeling better?”

“I am, thank you.”

“What may I do for you?”

“I need to get presents for Elrond and his family for Durin’s Day.”

“And you need money for it? I told you, just go to the shops and they send the bill here.”

“No, I don’t need money for it. I need to get it from Thorin’s treasure. And have the help of some smiths and jewelers.”

“I forgot that the elves do presents for their families. Does this mean..”

“No! It just means… I don’t know what it means, but I do need your help.”

“I am at your service. What do you need?”

Emma explains what she wants, and together they walk to the forges and the workplace of the jewelers.


	22. Durin's day

Over the next three days, everything goes as usual, with the exception of servants running around to arrange everything for Durin’s Day and more and more dwarves arriving for the festivities. Elrond has invited her to spend the day with him, his sons and his daughter, Arwen, whom is expected to arrive shortly before Durin’s Day. She has declined his invitation, stating her official duties will keep her busy all day. That’s not a lie, not really; there are many things she has to do that day. But that is not the reason she declined, Elrond not requesting a change in the ledger is. He has proven to be easily deterred from claiming her as his daughter, even though she stuck her neck out by saying she wanted him to. He made her step up and then pulled back himself. And besides him rejecting her, things had gotten a little strained between Emma and Melo, though that was much less reason to worry. It had been like this before, and it always turned out alright; he just needs a bit of space at the moment.

Then, it is the morning of Durin’s Day, and Emma is awoken by soft tickling in her neck.

“Mmmm.” She softly groans while stretching, only to find out that Thorin is looking at her.

“When you make noises like that and do not wear any nightclothes, we will never be in time for breakfast.”

She laughs. “I really don’t feel like getting out of bed. Is it really obligated for me to be present the whole day?”

“Unfortunately, it is. And you have not yet let me know what you will do for lunch.”

“No lunch.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Have you informed them?”

“I said my schedule was too full. But probably something will change anyways and mess the whole schedule up.”

Thorin laughs. “Probably. I have a present for you.”

“I told you I did not want presents! I do not like getting presents!”

“But this you will need. Now stand up and close your eyes.”

She does as he asks, and feels something incredibly soft being put around her. She opens her eyes and sees the most magnificent silver-grey fur cape on her shoulders. It reaches all the way to the floor, and has a little train, and a wide hood.

“Thorin! This is way too pretty for me!”

He softly kisses her, his arms around her naked waist. “Nothing is too pretty for you. It is you that makes it pretty.”

She smiles and returns his kiss. Not long after they fall back on the bed, Emma still in her cape. When her handmaidens do her hair and make-up afterwards, he looks at her as she sits at her vanity. Suddenly the realisation that she never looks at him while they have sex hits him.

 

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In the visitors wing, a servant knocks on the door to lord Elrond’s rooms. As he opens them, the servant bows.

“I have a delivery from her highness, my lord.”

“Please come in, and put it on the table.”

The servant puts the box down and takes his leave. Slowly, Elrond opens it, and sees four smaller boxes of different sizes inside, accompanied by an envelope. He opens it and takes the card out.

 

_I hope you can forgive me for not being able to have lunh with you today. Hopefuly you will enjoy yourselves. Perhaps you will join me at the matches?_

_Emma_

 

He smiles and takes the box to the dining room, where breakfast is being served and the rest of the family is sitting. Then, there is another knock on the door. Elrond puts the box down and walks to the door. To his surprise he sees another servant standing there with a box in his hands, this time a smaller one.

“I have a delivery from prince Melo for lady Eliana.”

“Thank you, I shall give it to her.”

Elrond takes the box and goes back to the dining room.

“It seems there are more presents. This is for you, my dear, from Melo.” He hands Eliana the box.

She carefully opens it and a tear rolls over her cheek as she sees what is inside it. There are two beads lying on a silk cloth. The beads her son had carved for her when she was pregnant with Emma. “Please excuse me for a moment.” She says, and she walks out of the room.

“Should we…?” Arwen says.

“No, just leave her for a moment.” Elrond answers.

“Can we see what is in the other box then?” Elrohir asks.

“You may.” Elrond smiles.

His oldest son takes the smaller boxes out of the bigger one and hands them out. They all open their boxes, and gasp.

“Emma sent this?” Elladan asks.

Elrond nods, unable to speak for a moment. In his box he finds one of the white jewels of Esgaroth, also known as the starlight jewels. Speaking in terms of gold, the present is almost invaluable, Erebor is the only place they have ever been found, and very few exist even here. And the dwarves do not give them away easily; not even Thranduil has gotten his necklace back yet. But that is not why Elrond is so deeply touched. He knows it is no coincidence that Emma gifted him something that he used to call her: a star. He tries to maintain his composure, but finds himself unable to do so. Arwen gives him a hug.

“What did you get, dear?’ he asks her to take the attention away from himself.

A big smile appears on her face. “Look.” She says, and she shows him the diamond surrounded by several different leaves and peddles and wrough ribbons of mythril around it. “Will you close it for me?”

He does and looks at the necklace, and blinks several times. He knows that necklace; it was wrought by the high elves smiths and once belonged to Galadriel, who used it in a trade. He can not believe that Emma has been so attentive in choosing her gifts and is willing to part with such invaluable items.

He looks at Elrohir and Elladan. “We told her our swords went, eeeh, missing, and it seems she has gotten us new ones.” Elladan says with a big smile, showing beautiful and intricately decorated swords, shaped in the way elvensmiths shape swords.

“Father, Emma got us the most perfect gifts, but you told us she does not like gifts and that you would take care of it. Please tell me that you did!” Arwen says.

“Of course I did, but I think we have to be diplomatic in giving it to her. I will do it for all of us.”

“Alright, so what is the plan for today?”

“Well, Elladan has to get ready for the matches, and I think we will also go there after breakfast, Emma has invited us to join her.”

Elladan quickly eats something and runs off, meeting Dwalin at the pits. The rest of them finish their breakfast and walk to the festival terrain, Eliana not joining them.

When they arrive there, many dwarves staring at them on the way, they see that the whole arena is packed full with spectators, Emma and Thorin already sitting on their thrones, and a long line of warriors slowly walking past them, bowing to Emma. Fili, Kili, Dwalin and Elladan are in the back of the line, and after they have bowed, all the warriors are standing in front of Emma and Thorin.

Thorin gets up. “Who will be your champion then, athumen?” he says loudly, for all to hear.

“I can not deny that all these warriors are more than suited to be my champion, but this year I shall choose lord Elladan.”

Elladan takes a deep bow and walks to Thorin and Emma. Emma hands Thorin a sjawl, which he puts arounds Elladan’s wrist. He steps back and takes another bow.

“I shall do whatever I can to uphold your honour, my queen.”

Then, the warriors go back to the rooms behind the pits, and Emma notices Elrond, Elrohir and Arwen. She nods at them and they walk up to her.

“I have saved you some seats here.”

They see three chairs standing on a slightly lower dais next to her, and take a seat, Arwen next to Emma.

“Thank you for your lovely gift, I really..” She starts whispering to Emma.

But Emma interrupts her. “It is nothing, don’t mention it.” she whispers back, and turns her attention to the pits.

There are three pits, and three fights will happen simultanious, the winner of each fight going to the next round, untill two warriors remain, who will fight the finale together. The fights end when one of the warriors gives up, blood is drawn or one of them is disarmed. To keep an even playing field, everyone gets a standard, blunted sword from the Erebor armoury, and no protection. They only wear breeches, so nothing can be hidden under clothes.

Emma look at the fights for an hour or so, clapping for the winner, and seems entertained.

“Do you like festivities like these?’ Arwen whispers to her.

She smiles a bit. “No, I really find it quite boring. One or two is nice, but I don’t know most of these warriors, so I have no stake in them winning or losing.”

“But you look so entertained!” Arwen whispers back.

“It is in my jobdescription.” Emma sighs.

But then they see Fili, Kili and Dwalin entering the pits, looking rather impressive with their bulging muscles and impressive tattoos. Thorin stares intensely and almost jumps up when they all three win, barely able to restrain himself. In the next round, Elladan is up against the most muscular dwarf Emma has ever seen; a war veteran from the iron Hills.

But his agility wins him the match, and he takes a bow for Emma before he leaves the pit. Arwen looks at Emma.

“What happens if he doesn’t win?”

“Then he has tarnished my honour or something, i don’t know really.”

“And what if he wins?”

Emma frowns. “I also don’t know.” She admits

Thorin sighs audibly and looks at the women sitting next to him. “If he loses, he has tarnished my wife’s honour and can not come to the banquet tonight. If he wins, he gets gold and I will decide if I find him worthy. If I do so, I will fight him myself. If he wins that, he can sit on my throne next to my wife for the night. If he looses, he is still the guest of honour, so he can sit on my right. Now, will you let me watch in silence?!”

Emma and Arwen try to hold their laugh, and are only barely able to do so. They keep quiet untill they see that Fili is up against Dwalin and Kili against Elladan in the semi-final round.

“Who do you think will win?”Emma asks Thorin.

“Fili almost beat Dwalin last year, and he has improved, so I think Fili will win. And Kili’s weapon of choice is the bow, he will not beat Elladan with a sword.”

“He has beaten many others.”

“Off course he is still better than the others, he is my heir.” Thorin says proudly.

The semi-finals go exactly as Thorin predicted, although the fight between Fili and Dwalin takes more than half an hour.

“So now your first heir against my champion.” Emma says.

“Hmm, I don’t know whom I would rather fight.”Thorin sighs. “I wish I could still participate.”

The fight between Fili and Elladan almost commences, and heavy betting is going on amongst the spectators. Dwalin is now standing next to Thorin, and to Emma’s surprise he whispers in Thorins ear.

“50 on Elladan.”

Thorin looks up and nods, shaking Dwalin’s hand. She looks at Elrond and Elrohir, and sees they are sitting quite comfortably, talking to someone who is next to to the royal tribune. She gets up a bit and sees it is Balin. To her surprise she sees Elrohir and Balin shaking hands, and she knows they are betting as well.

Her and Arwen look at eachother and start laughing.

Fili and Elladan enter the pit, and Thorin nods as a sign they may begin. They are both skilled, but Fili is stronger and Elladan is faster. For a long time, they are evenly matched, but then Elladan finds an opening and strikes Fili’s sword out of his hand. Fili picks up the sword and both take a bow for the king and queen. The public starts cheering even harder when Thorin gets up. He looks at Emma.

“Athumen , has your champion been worthy?”

“He has.”

“Shall I grant him the honour of fighting me then?”

“If it pleases you, thanu men.”

He walks to the pit and takes of his fur cape and the rest of his clothing, except for his breeches. Dwalin, who has followed him, takes his clothes and hands him a sword, and Thorin jumps into the pit. As Elladan has already fought many matches, there is a break so he can regain his breath, although it would not have been really necessary, as he is looking as fit as ever. He hands over the silk sjawl to Thorin and bows to Emma again. And then they start. It becomes clear that they are both formidable warriors, and that Thorin has lost none of his strength.

Emma smiles as she sees the musles on his torso bulging everytime he swings his sword, and can’t help to think of their activities this morning with a fainth smile on her lips. After nearly a quarter hour of intense fighting, both men now sweating, Thorin is finally able to disarm Elladan, the elf falling on his back, the crowds screaming an cheering again. Thorin lends Elladan a hand to get up, and they both bow to Emma, who slightly bows her head in return. Thorin and Elladan walk back to the changing rooms behind the pits, and the spectators leave the tribunes. Emma also gets up, followed by Arwen, Elrond and Elrohir.

“That was definitely one of the most boring mornings ever!” Emma sighs to Arwen.

“It got interesting in the end. I had no idea Thorin was a warrior himself.”

“Do not repeat the ‘was’ part to him.” Emma laughs.

“Do you have obligations now?” Arwen carefully asks Emma.

“I have to get changed for the banquet. I think it will start in an hour or so.”

“Could I---could I join you?”

“Eeeeh, sure, why not, come along.”

Arwen looks at Elrond, who nods at her, so she follows Emma.

“Just wait here for a moment.”Emma says to Arwen as they enter her rooms, and she walks to the bedroom.

“Thorin, are you here?”

“Yes.”

“Are you wearing clothes.”

“Yes, why?”

“Arwen is here and we need to get changed.”

He sticks his head around the bathroomdoor. “I get it, just a minute and I’ll be gone.”

Emma rings the bell for her handmaidens and walks back to Arwen and asks her to come in.

“Was this Thorin’s room before you married?”

Emma laughs. “Yes it was. I did not yet have the time to redecorate.”

Arwen blushes a bit, but then looks serious. “Emma, shall I dress you tonight, I have something I want to talk to you about in private?”

Emma frowns. “Eeeeh, alright…” she says hesitantly.

Her handmaidens walk into the room, but she gives them the night off. They seem quite happy with it and immediately take their leave. Emma looks in the closet which dress she wants to wear, and chooses a bright red one, with a very low clevage.

“Do you need help getting into it?’ Arwen asks.

Emma lets the dress rest on the floor, almost standing up by itself, takes her clothes of and steps into it. “This is where it starts.” She laughs.

Emma holds the dress up and Arwen closes the concealed zipper. Then, Emma sits at the vanity and starts brushing her hair. Arwen comes to stand behind her.

“Let me do that, I promised I would dress you. What do you want with your hair.”

“Loose I think, but that means that you have to brush it for a while so the curls on the end are nice and shiny.”

“You really have lovely hair.”

“Thank you. So what do you want to talk about?”

“Well, I have heard it is a bit of a sensitive subject, but I wanted to talk about my, well our, dad.”

Emma freezes. “Look, Arwen, it is nice of you to do this, and wanting to talk about your dad, but I would prefer not to.”

“Just tell me why then, are you really still upset with him and your mother?”

Emma thinks off how Elrond made her stand up for changing her lineage and then backe dout himself. “I do not feel comfortable discussing this.”

“Galadriel told me how your first meeting went a little askew.”

“Yes.” Emma snorts, thinking back of the night before her wedding.

“But will you not try to get to know us now?”

“I am.”

“I meant our dad, really. And maybe your mom? It is quite hard for her to see you and Melo, but not being able to talk to you.”

“Well, we went through our whole childhood without being able to talk to her. And please, do not call them my dad or my mom.”

“Is that why you don’t want presents?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you not want presents because you think they come with an obligation?”

Emma laughs. “No, I just don’t like getting presents.”

“Who does not like getting presents?!”

“I do, and my husband already ignored that, so I hope no one else will.”

“What did he get you?”

Emma points at the cape with a smile on her face.

“I already saw it today. It is so pretty!” Arwen says as she runs her hand down the cape.

“It is.”

“So you did like getting it as a present?”

“No. I like the cape, but I did not like that it is was a present.”

Arwen laughs. “I really don’t get it, I love getting presents, and I really love the present you got me.” She touches the diamond that is hanging from her neck. “And Elrond and my brothers love their presents too. I think Elrond was about to cry when he opened it.”

Emma says nothing. Arwen notices her silence and changes the subject.

“But anyway, what is the program for tonight?”

“There is a banquet, and after that a ball. Did Balin give you the invitation?”

“He did. I just don’t have anything to wear, so I don’t think I’ll attend.”

Emma looks at her. “Why did you not say so before, I could have had the seemstress make something?!”

“I forgot.” Arwen admits.

Emma gets up from her vanity and walks to her closet, going through her dresses.

“I think they are all way too short, but this one may work. It is an extra long model, which makes it difficult for me to walk in, but it may just work for you. Try it on.”

Arwen smiles and takes her dress of, carefully stepping into Emma’s dark purple dress. Emma closes the laces for her, and they look in the mirror.

“It is nice!” Arwen says.

“I think it is long enough. The bodess could be a little longer though, but there is nothing to do about it now. I think it will work.”

“This one it is then. Are you sure I can wear your dress?”

“Why not?”

“What if something happens to it?”

“Then it is broken and will either be mended or thrown away.” Emma shrugs her shoulders and sits down again. “By the way, should I call my ladies back to do your hair and make-up?”

”I don’t think you will be able to find them, and I can do it myself.” Arwen smiles and continues to brush her hair.

“Do you like these banquets and balls?” Arwen asks after a moment.

“You really do ask a lot of questions! I used to like them, but now everyone is watching me, even more than they do on other occasions, and I have to follow protocol.”

“Why do people watch you?”

“To see what I like and what I do and whom I meet.”

“Aaah, right.” Arwen gets that Emma means Elrond and Eliana.

She snickers. “They think you don’t notice it. But they really enjoy those moments.”

“Right, like that time Elrond ran down the mountain with me in his ceremonial robes!”

“Whaaat?”

“I run every morning, for excersize, I go up the mountain and turn around at a plateau. One morning Elrond was standing there and when I did not want to talk to him , he just ran after me. It was quite funny really.” Emma smiles as she remembers.

“You really changed him. I don’t think I have ever seen him run.”

Arwen looks like she is thinking, but shrugs her shoulders and turns her attention back to Emma. “Your make up?”

“Yes, a lot on the eyes, moderation on the lips, no red cheeks.”

“I have to admit I have never done anyones make-up.”

“Then why did you offer to do mine?!”

“I just wanted to spend time together.” Arwen smiles sheeply.

Emma also starts laughing. “Well, at least I am already married, so I won’t scare of potential suitors. I will do it myself.”

She struggles to get her make-up right, but after an hour or so she finally manages. Arwen also managed to get ready, and together they proceed to the banquet. The doors to the great hall are already closed, meaning the banquet has already started, but the guards pull them open, and the ceremonymaster announces them.

“Her highness queen Emma and Lady Arwen.”

All get up and bow as Emma walks in and takes her place, Arwen taking the seat next to her father.

“Where have you been?! We have been wating for you for half an hour!” Thorin whispers angrily at Emma.

“Wardrobe malfunction.” She whispers back.

He looks confused but does not say anything more.

“You looked great this afternoon, I did not have a chance to say it.” Emma whispers.

He grins. “I did, didn’t I. But Elladan was thougher to beat than I thought. I should start practicing regularily again. Shall I join your training?”

“Sure, that will be nice.”She smiles.

But then the nobles start holding speeches in honor of Erebor, in honor of their king in honor of their queen, in honor if the queen’s champion. The number of things the nobles feel they have to honor is almost never ending, and Emma has to make an effort to keep focussed on what they say. She almost sighs audibly in relief as the speeches end.

Thorin stands up and offers her his arm. She takes it and together they walk to the ballroom, where two thrones are placed for them. They sit down and watch their guests mingle for a while, untill the dancing starts.

“You know I don’t dance, right?” Thorin says.

“You made me do incredibly boring things all day, not even feeding me properly, and now you tell me you don’t dance?”

“Alas. I have many qualities, but dancing is not one of them.”

“You should have mentioned that when we started courting!”

He chuckles.

Elladan walks over to them and takes a bow. “Your highness, today I have defended your honor, beaten only by his highness. Will you reward my valor with a dance?”

Emma laughs out loud and gets up. Elladan bows to Thorin and leads her to the dancefloor.

“You certainly know court manners well.” Emma says while they dance.

“I was around when the courts of men were much more formal.”

She looks at him in surprise. “I completely forgot that you must be quite old.”

“I like to stay young.”

The music ends and Emma takes her seat again.

“You like him, don’t you?’ Thorin says with a fainth smirk.

“I am merely being polite.”

“Just admit that you like Elrond’s son.”

“Fine, I like him. I like all three of his children, they make me laugh.”

“Four.”

“Three.”

Melo interrupts their friendly quarrel. “A dance, namad? We need to talk.”

She gets up and follows him. When they start dancing, he starts talking.

**”I need you to stop being around Elrond and his family.”**

**”Why?”**

**”Father found out that I gave the elves permission to keep up the barriors on our lands and he has taken back control over the army. I believe war is upon us.”**

**”What?! You have to do something!”**

**”He is old and is starting to loose his mind.”**

**”All the more reason.”**

**”Emma, this shit has been going on long enough! It has ruined our childhood, well yours more than mine, and now it is messing everything up. It needs to end.”**

**”Don’t make a scene and keep your voice down! This is an offical ball and I will not have a public brawl again!”**

**”Come and sit down.”** Melo says, leading her to an empty table.

**”I can not have my sister being around any elf right now. Before you know it, I will be accused of treason and I will have no influence whatsoever anymore. And seeing that father is not really capable of running the kingdom anymore, it would be devastating.”**

**”Get the parliament to install you as king.”**

**”He is not that far gone yet.”**

**”Arrange a peace treaty. All the main players, except for Galadriel, are still here. Get father also here, there must be something that can be arranged.”**

**”I don’t think I want to meet them all again, and even less with father present.”**

**”If you don’t want to make the effort, you’re on your own.”**

**”You’re being grumpy.”**

**”And you are a spoiled brat.”**

**”I know how hard it was for you, and I know I had a part in it. You always gave me more than I gave you, but I need you to do this for me, namad.”**

Emma looks at the table where Elrond and his family are sitting, talking and laughing together.

**”Don’t make me choose, nadad.”**

Elrohir has seen Emma looking at them, and walks over to her. “Would you like to dance?”

“Could we maybe do that later, Elrohir? Melo and I have some business to discuss.”

“Of course, are you alright?”

“I am, it will only take another moment.”

He looks at her as if he wants to say something else, but then nods politely and walks away.

**”You can not fix past problems by becoming friends with them.”**

Emma’s face freezes. **”And what do you mean by that, Melo?”**

**”It means that you can not change what has happened. They will not suddenly become your parents and they will not give you your childhood back. Right now they are my enemy.”**

**”Why do you pretend to know about anything that has happened or what I want!”** she hisses at him.

Thorin has been watching his wife talking to her brother, and knows something is going on. He looks at Elrohir and beckons him to come to him. As Elrohir stands next to him, he asks:

“What are they talking about?”

“I can hear them, but I don’t know what they say. The only thing I know is that they said something about my father, but only once or twice.Emma said they were talking business and it wouldn’t take long. Do you need me to ask her again?”

“No, it will be fine, thanks. But keep listening and tell me when they start to talk about me. I have a feeling this is not going in a direction I like. ”

Elrohir goes back to his family, but keeps looking at Emma.

 

**”I pretend to know because I do know. You want to be part of that.”** Melo says while jerking his head towards the elves.

**”You are the one that gave Eliana her beads back.”**

**”How do you know about that?!”**

**”Because my husband and me employ all servants.”** she says dryly.

**”I gave them back to close that chapter. Do the same and have a family of your own, find your place amongst your husband and children.”**

**”You are telling me to have children so I will not think of the past again?!”**

**”That’s not what I mean.”**

**”Listen to me, and listen carefully: if you want to make some kind of a treaty, I will help you. If you want the parliament to install you as king, I will help you. But you will not tell me how to live my life so you can play favourite with father and start a war!”**

**”No, you listen to me! Unlike father and Sindor I rarely tell you what to do, but if you do not comply with me on this I will have to. You can not mess up state matters over this!”**

**”You forget, Melo, that by practically selling me to Thorin, you do not have first say over me anymore.”** she says coldly.

Elrohir nods to Thorin, who is slowly getting up and walking over to Emma and Melo.

**”You know what I mean. I really need you to do this for me. Do it or I have to force someone’s hand to get father to like elves and prevent a war!”**

**”Don’t threaten me, Melo! Take my advice, arrange a treaty, you will lose if it comes to war. And if by some chance you do win, you will have the armies of Angmar and Gundabad drinking tea in your parlor within days. You just don’t want to go against father, you were never able to do so, afraid you wouldn’t be the favorite anymore.”**

As Melo wants to answer, both of them are startled by Thorin sitting at their table.

“Melo, I hope you are not involving my wife in the problems you are experiencing with the elves?” he says semi-jovialy and lighthearted, though his meaning does not go amiss on Melo.

“I can not have divide or doubt in the parliament right now. Emma is sending out a wrong message.”

“I do not need you handling this, Thorin.” Emma says. “It’s state business.”

“Just not your state anymore, as it’s king is not your father.”

Emma’s face blanks, and she gets up and walks back her throne. Melo walks back to his room, and Thorin sits at the table for a moment before he also goes back to his throne.

“What did he ask of you?”

“It seems that does not matter.”

“Why don’t you finally start doing what you want?! You are in a position where very little people can tell you what to do, and yet you still let everyone tell you what to do.”

“Says the man who can tell me what to do.”

“I think you are holding yourself back. You clearly want to spend more time with your new family, but for some reason you don’t.”

“Have you been drinking?”

“I have actually. The speeches and dancing bore me to death, so every Durin’s Day I start drinking at the banquet and finish it with some ales with Dwalin, Fili and Kili after the ball.”

“And your inebriated brain made you think it was a good idea to meddle?”

“Why would you take on all the burdens of being a queen, without profiting the benefits? Someone needed to tell you.”

“I hope you’ll have a terrible headache in the morning.”

He takes another gulp from a cup standing next to him.

“I think I will.”

“What are you drinking anyway?”

“Whisky.”

“Why did you not offer me any?”

He grins. “How much longer will this ball go on?”

“You’re the king, just leave.”

“I think I will.” He nods at Dwalin, Fili and Kili and they walk out of the room, Thorin glancing back at her over his shoulder, surprising Emma with how straight they walk.

A few moments after they have left, Elrond comes to sit next to Emma.

“You look pensive.” He says.

“My brother always has more than one trick up his sleeve, and I fear for what he is going to do.”

“What has he asked of you?”

She hesitates for a moment. “That I sever my ties with you and your family.”

His face hardens a bit, but then becomes softer again. “And what did you say?”

“I have refused him.” She says emotionless, looking straight forward.

A very fainth smile appears on Elrond’s face. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

She sighs deeply. “I can not leave now anyway, as Thorin has already left, so I just need to think about what my brother may do. I fear it is something rash to either force my hand or yours.”

“I shall leave you then. Let me know if there is anything I can do.”

“Thank you, Elrond.”

After an hour or so, the ball ends, and all guests leave, bowing to Emma as they do. On her way to her room, she stops by Dwalin’s room to see if Thorin is alright. She knocks, but gets no answer. She slowly pushes the door open, but almost shuts it as she sees what is going on in the room.

Thorin, Dwalin, Fili and Kili are all being entertained by women. Naked women. While the men are also barely dressed. She takes another glance and sees that Thorin is with his former consort, lying next her and whispering in her ear. Emma sees the consort’s swollen belly and knows the child will come soon. She softly closes the door again and goes to her rooms.

But as she lies in bed, she can’t seem to fall asleep, plagued by worries about Melo and Thorin. When she is finally falling into a slumber, she is awoken by Thorin stepping into the bed. She wants nothing more than to start yelling at him, but knows this is not the time and that it might do more harm than good.


	23. Trial

After three hours of sleep, Thorin and Emma are awoken by a servant.

“I am truely sorry, your highnesses, but court is starting in a minute and it is detrimental that one of you is there today.”

Thorin grunts. “Please go for me, Emma. It will probably be nothing more than some requests by over-eager people that think showing up the morning after Durin’s Day is the perfect time to show their dedication and I have a terrible headache.”

Emma looks at her husband and then sighs. She rings for her handmaidens and quickly gets dressed. On her way to the throneroom, where court is held, she takes a piece of bread from the breakfast table.

“Emma, I had not expected to see you this early.” Elrond says just as she puts the bread in her mouth.

“Eeeeh”She has to wait with answering untill she finishes chewing. “Thorin can’t hold court today and has asked me to do it.”

“May I come and see?”

“Sure, why not.”

“Galadriel has arrived this morning, wanting to speak to you. Shall I ask her to also come? Maybe we can talk after.”

“I do not like her. Have her speak to Thorin or Melo.”

“Could she come and watch court then?”

“If she must.”

Elrond nods at Galadriel, and they walk to the throne room together. Emma takes her place on the throne and nods at Balin to start. Elrond en Galadriel take their seat next to Gandalf, Bard and Thranduil. Whom, for some reason, have also decided to attend court.

“Your highness, will the king not be present today?” Balin asks.

“Unfortunately he is unable to do so and has asked me to hold court in his stead.”

“We have a, eeeh, criminal case today, and judgement has to be passed.”

“Then I shall do so.”

“It is a sensitive case, I would like to request a closed court.”

Emma looks up and sees Balin looking quite worried. “Granted.” She says. “All directly involved and the three jurymembers may follow to the court chambers.”

She gets up and walks to a smaller, closed, courtchamber where she sits in the judges chair. Balin stands at one of the tables in front of her chair, while all others sit on the spectators benches. When everyone is seated, Dwalin walks in, holding Melo tightly by his arm. Emma is shocked, but does not show any emotion.

“Please read the charges, Balin.”

“Prince Melo is being accused of raping Jessa, daughter of Jaro, in the early hours of this day.”

O damned, o fuck, o bugger, o for the love of Mahal, what is this?! Emma must fight to keep a blank expression, but confusion reigns inside of her. How is possible that Melo is standing here and is being accused of rape?! Rape of Thorin’s former consort?! Certainly this is no coincidence, but what in Mahal’s name could be his intent?

“You will represent Erebor and therewith Jessa, I presume?” Emma continues as if nothing were out of the ordinary.

“I will, your highness.”

“Who will represent the accused?”

“No one has been appointed yet.”

“I will appoint someone in a moment. For now, I will make sure I lawfully permitted to judge this case. The courtroom doors will stay closed, no one leaves, no one enters.” Emma says.

She nods at Elrond to follow her, and walks into the law library next to the courtroom. There, she sits down on one of the stools used to reach the book son the higher shelves.

“Are you going to judge this case?’ Elrond asks softly.

Emma starts sobbing into her hands, and Elrond sits next to her, pulling her aganst his chest and wrapping his arms around her.

“Shhh, don’t worry, if he is innocent, they won’t be able to make a case against him.”

Emma believes Melo to be guilty. He has committed a crime against the king’s favourite, which would normally mean he would be outcasted. But if Elrond defends him, and makes sure he is cleared of all charges, Melo can show his father that an elf has saved him, an act that _has_ to be repayed. By making a treaty regarding the protective spells. So she has to also play the game, manipulating Elrond in the process.

“Jessa is not just some girl, she was the king’s consort, and currently pregnant with his child. So she has the public opinion on her side. I need your help.”

Elrond needs a moment to process this information, but he finally says: “What can I do?”

“I need you to represent him.”

“Tell me what to do.”

“We have to completely ruin the girls reputation. Even dispute that she was raped.”

“How?”

“You have to point out that she is pregnant without being married. And last night, she and some whores were entertaining the whole Durin line and Dwalin. If she was in the company of whores, she might just be one.”

Elrond’s head jerks a bit. “You are willing to do that to a pregnant girl?”

“It is the truth, and she is trying to set up my brother to hurt me. And if I don’t, we will all be at war soon. Melo no longer has control over the army.” Emma says coldly.

“What do you mean?”

“Never mind. Please just help me!”

“And what about you? Thorin will not be happy about this.”

Emma gives him a sad smile. “In chess, sometimes you have to sarcifice the queen in order to win.”

She gets up, wipes her face and walks back to the courtroom, followed by Elrond.

“I am indeed allowed to judge this case, and so I shall. Lord Elrond will represent prince Melo.”

The three jurymembers, nobles of Erebor, mumble a bit under their breath, but say nothing.

“Lord Balin, you may begin.”

“I wish to call on Jessa for her testimony.”

Jessa walks up to a chair placed in front of the courtroom and sits down, her swollen belly clearly visible.

“Would you please tell us what has happened last night?” Balin asks her.

Jessa sobs a bit, but then starts. “I was walking back to my rooms when someone grabbed me and pushed me into a dark corner. He held a knife against my throat, told me to keep quiet and pulled up my skirt.” She starts crying harder. “When I saw him, I immediately knew it was the brother of her highness, and I could not understand what he was doing. Buth then he pulled up my skirts and entered me. After he—after he just walked away.”

“And has anyone seen what happened?”

“I did not see anyone, so I don’t think so.”

“Thank you Jessa.” Balin says, and he sits down.

“Lord Elrond, you may question the victim.” Emma says.

Elrond gets up and stands in front of Emma. “Your highness, I have not yet been given evidence that the girl is actually raped. I request a physical exam to be done.”

“Granted.” Emma says. “Dwalin, please fetch a healer.”

Dwalin walks out of the courtroom and returns not long after with a healer.

“Healer, please examine this woman for signs of rape. You may use the library.”

“Your highness, perhaps it would be more comfortable to do this in her ladies rooms?” the healer suggest.

“That may be so, but this is a closed court.”

The healer nods and helps Jessa up and shows her to the library.

“We will go on with the next withness untill the exam is done.” Emma says.

“I would like to ask prince Melo to give testimony.”

“Prince Melo will not give testimony on the stand. He states that he has gone to his rooms after the ball and has not left those rooms until he was taken by Dwalin this morning.” Elrond states.

“Any withnesses to support this statement?’ Emma asks coldly.

“No your highness. Prince Melo’s personal servants had already gone to sleep, so no one was in his rooms last night.”

“Balin, your next witness.”

“We have no other witnesses, your highness.”

“Lord Elrond?”

“We would like to ask Dwalin to give testimony.”

Dwalin walks up to the chair and sits down.

“Master Dwalin, could you testify to your whereabouts last night?”

“What does Dwalin has to do with this? I do not think this is relevant, your highness.” Balin says

Emma raises her eyebrow as she looks at Elrond.

“Master Dwalin is an important witness to our case, your highness.”

“Allowed.”

Elrond turns back to Dwalin. “Please state your whereabouts last night.”

“I attented the royal ball.”

“And after that? ”

“I had some drinks with friends in my rooms.”

“Who were present for this?”

“I would rather not say that.”

“Master Dwalin, this is a closed court. All information has to be disclosed.” Emma says.

“King Thorin and the princes Fili and Kili were present.”

“Anyone else?’

“There may have been some ladies present.”

“Noble ladies or ladies that require payment?”

“The latter.” Dwalin admits with clenched teeth.

“And was the victim also present?”

For a moment Dwalin says nothing, but then he nods.

“And did she engage in the same activities as the other ladies?”

Dwalin nods again.

“With whom?”

Dwalin clenches his jaw so hard Emma fears he will break some teeth, but he manages to grunt out that Jessa had been with the king.

“Thank you, master Dwalin.” Elrond takes his seat.

“Lord Balin, do you have questions for this witness?”

“I do not, your highness.”

Dwalin gets up and wants to walk out of the courtroom.

“May I remind you that this is a closed court, lord Dwalin. No one leaves until judgement has been passed.”

Dwalin looks at Emma like he is going to explode, but sits down. By the lack of a reaction from her when he told that Jessa had been with Thorin last night, he knows she already knew. And that she has told Elrond to ask about it. it is clear to him that the trial is only for show, to make it at least _look_ like fair judgement is passed. But he also knows the outcome of the trial is already fixed, duping Jessa. His blood boils when he thinks of Emma so blatantly disregarding the reputation of fair judgement in Erebor to better her insufferably weak relatives.

“Do you have any more withnesses, Lord Elrond?” Emma asks.

“No your highness.”

“Then we wait untill Jessa returns.”

Everyone sits quiet for about five minutes, but then the doors open and Jessa and the healer walk back in.

“Healer, please give your testimony.”

“There were signs of recent sexual activity, but I can not say for sure whether they were caused by consentual relations or rape.”

“And were there any other signs on her body indicating rape?” Balin asks.

“There was a small scratch on her throat where she said the knife was being held, but again I can not say with absulute certainty it was actually caused by a knife.”

“Thank you, healer.” Balin says.

“Questions, lord Elrond?”

“No your highness.”

“Then Jessa may take the stand.” Emma says coldly.

Jessa sits down and Elrond stands in front of her.

“Master Dwalin has stated that you had consentual relations with his highness the king last night. Is this correct?”

Jessa nods.

“But you are not married to the king.”

Jessa shakes her head.

“You are pregnant?”

Jessa nods.

“But you are not married, not have you ever been?”

Jessa shakes her head.

“So, you have relations and even get pregnant without being married, had relations last night, and the healer can not be sure that you were raped. Did the rape really happen, or is it a story you made up?” Elrond is doing his reputation for being a stern leader justice. His face shown no other emotion than complete authority, demanding the truth from Jessa and showing his derision with just one single look.

Jessa starts crying. “It really happened, you have to believe me!”

Emma’s stomach turns as she hears the cries of the girl, but her face shows nothing.

“Please het the girl some water, and bring her to her seat.” Emma says to Balin.

When Balin and Jessa are seated again, Emma says. “Closing statements may be given now.”

Balin gets up. “It is true that little evidence can be found, but that does not mean the rape did not take place. Jessa has no reason to lie about such a thing, as she does not know the prince. Her testimony was honest, and should therefore be enough, as out laws state.” He takes a small bow and sits down again.

Elrond stands up. “As Jessa is consort to the king, she does have a connection to the accused: he is the brother of the queen, a woman who has taken the place Jessa wanted to have. And there is no evidence whatsoever of any rape taking place, but all the more evidence of lewd behavior of the alledged victim. There is too much doubt to sentence this man.” He also takes another bow and sits down.

Emma looks at the nobles whom are deliberating. After a minute, one of them gets up. “Your highness, we are divided. There is one guilty, one not-guilty and one withdrawn vote. We leave sentencing up to you.”

Suddenly, the doors to the courtroom are thrown open, and Thorin walks in. Everyone expects him to do something, but he sits down and watches Emma intendly.

She closes her eyes for a moment, opens them again, and then says. “Not guilty.”, looking straight at Thorin.

Thorin walks out of the courtroom again, followed by everyone else. Only Gandalf, Melo, Galadriel and Elrond walk towards Emma. She gets up and looks at Melo.

** “Did you do it?” **

To her surpise, he shrugs as if it is to no great importance. **”Does it matter?”**

**”Who knows. But it is kind of coincidental that you find yourself in the situation that an elf has to rescue you just at the moment you need your father to agree to a treaty with them.”**

He nods. **”It is.”**

Emma chews on her cheek for a moment, uncertain of how to proceed. She can understand his need to make thing happen, but if he realy attacked Jessa, he went too far. Much too far.

Melo sees his sister’s doubt and hurt, and steps closer to put his arms around her, but she takes a step back and looks at him coolly.

** “You need to leave now. Get your father, and bring him here in one moon to sign the treaty.” **

** “Emma, I—“**

** “Again I thought of you instead of myself. Now do what I asked you.” ** She says coldly

Melo walks out of the courtroom, accompanied by Gandalf.

“What will happen to you now?” Elrond asks Emma

“I need you to leave. You had untill Durin’s Day, that date has passed so you no longer have a right to be here.”

Elrond flinches when he hears Emma’s harsh words and sees her cold expression. He wants to protest, convince her otherwise, but all he can say is:

“I have gifted you an appartment in the royal palace in Rivendell. It is yours to use whenever you want. Or to live in permanently.”

She gives him the tiniest of nods and then swiftly walks to her chambers.

Elrond turns to Galadriel. ~“She has used me, didn’t she? She needed me as a leverage of some kind, making me think she started to like me, make me defend her brother, and now she is done.”~ He says, his voice barely more than a whisper.

Galadriel smiles kindly. ~“After almost three millenia I would have thought you to be wiser, my dear Elrond. Do you not see what is clearly in front of you?”~

Elrond jerks his head up to her. ~“What do you mean?”~

~”She may have used you by convincing you that Melo is innocent and Jessa is just out to get her, but for the rest she is protecting your interest as well as the treaty.“~

~”How so?”~

~”You have done Melo a grand favor, a favor that has to be repayed by his father. For example by officially allowing us access to his lands.”~

~” She can not be this ruthless! I refuse to believe she could think of this way to accomplish Melo’s goals!”~

~” O no, she didn’t think of it. Such an amaturistic plan with such an unsure outcome can not come from her, but she was forced to go along with it.”~

~” Then why did she not confide in me, why did she not trust me to help her without being manipulated?!”~

~” Do I really have to explain your daughter to you, Elrond? You said it yourself: she doesn’t trust you yet. But if I were you, I wouldn’t take it personally, she doesn’t seem to trust many people. Not even her own husband.”~

~” And now?”~

~” Now we do as she has asked, and see her again in a moon, when the treaty will be signed and things will be different.”~

~” How do you know all this?”~

~” In her anger your daughter slipped up, and forgot I understand her language.”~

~” How do you know it anyway? Other dwarves do not even know it? And you don’t speak Khuzdul.”~

~”A very long time ago, I was present when the language was born. It has not changed much.”~

From her tone, Elrond knows his former mother in law does not want to elaborate, so he lets the matter rest, and together they walk to his wing to collect their belongings.

 

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Fili and Kili are standing in front the doors and look at Emma with anger and resentment in their eyes, but they say nothing. As she walks in and closes the door, she sees Thorin and Balin in the sitting room, discussing loudly. Thorin jumps up as he sees her.

“YOU! You have disgraced me, disgraced the justice system of Erebor and betrayed my blood!” He bellowes, and he hits her with all his strength at her cheek.

She has to hold on to a table not to fall, and she presses her hand to her cheek, which feels like it is on fire. She sees Balin trying to hold Thorin back, but being unable to, and calling for Fili and Kili.

Thorin now clenches his hand around Emma’s jaw, his thumb on one cheek and his other fingers on the other, and pulls her hair so her head tilts back. He pushes her against the wall. “Just tell me why! Because I saw Jessa last night? Because you don’t have the heart to sentence your brother? TELL ME!”

Fili and Kili run into the room. They struggle to pull Thorin away from Emma, Fili standing between Thorin and Emma, pushing at his uncle’s chest to hold him back.

“You will go to the bedroom, and stay there untill I give you permission to leave!” Thorin yells at Emma. She looks at him and nods, going into the bedroom and closing the door. She looks in the mirror and sees her cheek going blue. She lies down on the bed and cries herself to sleep.

 

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Three weeks pass, in which Thorin has barely said five words to her and has started sleeping somewhere else. She sees him even less when Jessa’s has given birth, to a son called Ferin. But no one informs her about it, she hears it from her maidens. She only went out her rooms for training, breakfast and dinner, but as everyone keeps staring at her while she eats, she quickly loses her appetite. Balin is the only one that sometimes comes to visit her, but he keeps asking about the trial, as he doesn’t belief it was the simple case it initially looked like.

“Tell me lass. What was it really about? I know it wasn’t just jealousy or protecting your brother. And it wasn’t like your brother to do something like that.”

“Let it go, Balin. It happened, nothing to do about it anymore.”

“You are not denying it happened?”

Emma smiles, though it doesn’t reach her eyes. “Leave it, you’ll sleep better.”

“And how are you sleeping?”

She sighs. “Alone.”

Balin nods. “He’ll come back.”

“We both know he won’t.”

“If you think that, then why are you still here?”

“Atonement.”

“Nothing else?”

“There is nothing else left.”

“If you fight for it, there is a lot left. He misses you, and he’s ashamed.”

“I have no more fight left in me.”

Balin laughs out loud. “We both know that is impossible.”

He looks serious all of the sudden. “Are you leaving him?”

‘He has already left. I am just waiting for the moment he will ask me to leave these rooms and cut the mark out.”

“He won’t”

“I knowingly went against is wishes.”

“And he hit you.”

“What are you trying to say, Balin?” Emma sighs out.

“That I want you to make an effort to get Thorin back. He has never been so miserable. He shouts at everyone that does not exactly does what he says and has so far broken three chairs, five antique paintings, two swords and fifteen plates.”

“You seem to know that list quite well.”

“Don’t change the subject.”

“Don’t stick your nose in my business.”

Balin laughs and starts walking out. “By the way, the strangest thing has happened. We have received an official request from Melo’s father to host a treaty meeting with himself, Rivendel, the Mirkwoord, Dale and Lorien.” As he says it, he carefully observes Emma’s expression, but it does not change.

“Really? When?”

“A week from now.”

“You must be happy that that matter will finally be settled. I hope the meeting goes well.”

“You will not be attending?”

“Why would I? I have no stake in it.”

“But your father—and Melo—“

“As I said: I have no stake in it.”

Balin really does not get it anymore. He hesitates to advice her in this. He knows she is pushing everyone away and she will all alone in the end, but he remains quiet, not finding it his place to meddle.

In the fourth week, Balin does not come by, and Emma knows preparations for the treaty meeting have started. When she thinks of seeing Elrond again, a nervous prickle rises in her stomach, but she does not know what to make of it. It would be easier to just go and live with him and his family in Rivendell, but she knows she has pushed him away and can not take that back.

Then, finally, it is the day all the guests are arriving. Emma stands on the balcony, her fur cape wrapped around her, and watches as they approach Erebor.To her surprise, she also sees her father, or former father, coming. She had expected him to leave everything to Melo. The day passes to evening, and she sits in her room, thinking of everyone that is gathered and hoping her brother’s plan has worked out.


	24. Treaty

Thorin sits at the head of the table, Fili and Kili next to him and Balin standing behind him, looking at everyone gathered. Gandalf, Bard with his son next to him, Thranduil with Legolas standing behind him, Galadriel, Elrond with Elladan and Elrohir siding him, Melo’s father and Melo. He has a very strong urge to jump on the table and rip Melo’s head of, but realises it would make negotiating quite difficult. Emma’s father, or former father rather, scrapes his throat and looks at him.

“Where is my daughter?”

“Excuse me?”

“Emma. Where is Emma?”

Everyone is now looking at him. “In her rooms, I suspect.” Thorin answers coldly.

**”Melo, you told me Emma would be here!”** Emma’s former-father says to his son.

**”She is not, nothing to do about it.”**

**”Get her then”**

**”It is no longer for us to decide where she is and what she does.”**

“King Thorin, I think everyone would be quite happy to see your delightfull wife again.” Galadriel says, having heard the conversation between father and son.

“She will join us for dinner.” He says annoyed.

**”I will not proceed without Emma!”**

Melo sighs deeply. “My father will not proceed without Emma.” He translates wearily.

The sides of Elrond’s and Galadriel’s lip curl up sligtly, but they manage to hide it. All are looking at Thorin again now.

“Fine. Kili, get Emma.”

Kili gets up and walks to Emma’s room. He knocks and puts his head around the door.

“Emma?” he yells.

She walks out of the bedroom. “Yes?’

“Your presence is required at the treaty meeting.”

“I don’t think my presence will add anything. Please tell them I am otherwise occupied.”

“Your father and brother refuse to start the meeting without your presence and Thorin has asked you to come.”

“Give me a moment then.” She sighs

She fixes her hair and make-up and then walks with Kili to the meeting. When she enters, all but Thorin get up. Thorin points at the chair next to him, and she sits down, face emotionless.

“She’s here, now can we get on with it?” Thorin grunts.

**”Emma, dear daughter, how have you been?”**

Emma looks at the man that has mistreated her for the biggest part of her life, has prevented her mother from taking her with her when she left and has used her as an insurance policy to ensure that his ex-wife would not go to her lover. And now he acts as if he has dearly missed her. He must be going senile. Just a little while, she tells herself, just a little while and this treaty will be signed. And if it is, she can leave and be free somewhere. Away from the rest of the world.

**”Very well. I believe everyone is waiting on you to start the negatiations.”** She points out as if she were speaking to a child.

He nods as if her words come from Mahal himselfand turns to the others at the table. They talk for quite a while, all trying to get the maximum out of the treaty. Finally, everyone seems to agree.

“Right.” Thranduil says. “We all know the conditions of the treaty, does anyone have some last remarks?”

No one says anything.

“Shall we sign it then?” He suggests sarcastically.

Emma’s former father scrapes his throat again. “As I am getting old, I have decided to hand the reign of my kingdom over to my firstborn son, Melo. All the papers for it are already signed and approved, so from now on, you will be doing business with him.”

Everybody bows their heads to the new king, except for Thorin, whom just clenches his jaw, and Emma, whom has been looking at the proceedings with distant coldness, but now smiles at Melo. Papers go around the table, every king signing, and when all is done, most sigh in relief. Emma stands up and looks at the most powerfull people in Middle Earth before she walks away with just a small bow of her head.

“Is something the matter?” Gandalf asks, as usual not minding that perhaps not everyone likes him to stick his nose in their business.

“Please direct your questions towards the queen’s brother, he can give you a detailed description of how things transpired. But please, let us eat first.” Thorin answers.

Servants bring in the dinner, and they start eating in silence, untill Elladan speaks up. “I think I want that description now.” He says while looking at Melo.

“There is little to explain. The kingdom always comes first, she knows that. She will give what I tell her to give.”

Most of the guests frown, as they have no idea what is actually being said and find Melo’s tone and words quite insulting to Emma.

“You certainly did your kingdom a favour, but in a cowards way. You have let her pay the price for it.” Elrond says harshly.

Melo’s father jumps up. “Are you calling my son a coward?!” he yells.

“I most certainly am, for that is what he is. An honourless coward!”

Thorin also gets up. “I will get an explanation of what is going on here, and I shall have it now!” He bellowes at Elrond.

Elrond grouches. “You don’t know?” He looks around the room. “You are all half-wits and fools, unworthy of your thrones.” And with that, he strides out of the room.

>”Why do these things always end up in some secret coming out and people screaming?”< Thorin asks Balin in a tired voice.

>”Because you are indeed a half-wit and a fool.”<

Thorin’s face is starting to get red.

>”You have no idea what has been going on, and are too much of a coward to ask your wife.”<

Fili and Kili look at Balin in utter surprise, but the king’s advisor just continues.

>”And so you will always be blindsided by these type of things.”<

>”You call me a coward?!”<

Balin grinns. >“That is what you take from my words?”<

Thorin gets up. “I believe I shall retire for the night. Please let me know which problems have arisen this time, in the morning.” He says sarcastically as he walks away, followed by Fili and Kili.

>“Uncle, what were they talking about?”<

>“I have absolutely no clue whatsoever. I do know that I am not going to host anything to do with the treaty anymore.”<

>“Why did you do so in the first place? We don’t really have anything to do with it.”<

Thorin raises his eyebrows. >“Again, no idea.”<

>“We look like dimwitted idiots.”<

>”Thank you for your clever observation.”<

>”What are you going to do about it?”<

>”We are going to talk to my wife, and make her tell us what in Mahal’s name is going on.”<

Fili and Kili almost have to run to keep up with their uncle’s determinded pace, and not much later they are waiting for the door to Emma’s rooms to be opened.

Luck is not on their side, as Emma is not there. They walk to the practice area, and see her boxing with Jeron. However, they also see Melo approaching her. As he gets into the ring, Emma also notices him.

**”Namad, let me explain.”**

**”There is nothing to explain. Congratiolations with your throne, all hail the new king.”** she says to him wih a mocking bow.

**”I wanted to thank you.”**

She turns around and to everyone’s surprise, she punches him right in the face, yelling:

**”You just did what you wanted again, destroying my position! I do not need your gratitude!”**

He looks at her in utter surprise, holding his bleeding nose, and then quickly walks back to his rooms. Emma looks at him as he walks away, and then notices Thorin. He gets a disdained look as she passes him by, also going to her rooms. It would have been wisest for them to just leave her alone for a while, but none of them seems to have this thought, so they follow her to her rooms, catching up with her in the antechamber.

“We looked like uninformed fools today, again.” Thorin starts.

Emma crooks an eyebrow.

“And that is going to stop. You are going to tell us what exactly the deal was with that trial and your brother.”

A Thranduil-like smirk appears on Emma’s face.

“You want to know what that trial was really about? I will tell you. Your little Jessa did not find your cock enough, so she begged my brother for his. He fucked her six ways to Sunday, but when he didn’t pay her after, she got upset and claimed rape. By the way, are you sure that child is yours and not from one of her other 75 customers?”

Fili and Kili are looking at a smirking Emma, who is walking to the bedroom, with big eyes, but Thorin jumps up and goes after her, telling his nephews to stay in the antechamber. He closes the door behind him as he enters the bedroom and looks at his wife. For a few moment, they just stand like that, looking at eachother, but then he walks over to her, pulling her close to him with one hand and cupping her jaw firmly with the other, forcing her to look at him.

“What am I going to do with you, Emma?” he asks gently.

But she jerks away, looking at him furiously. “Do not touch me!” she hisses. “And for what you should do: go back to that consort of yours and move into her appartment. Or move her here for all I care!”

He pulls her close to him again, an iron grip around her waist. “You know I have not been sleeping with her. Tell me what this is really about.”

She can not believe he is still here. She had hoped to get him so angry that he would leave or cut the mark out of her neck immediately for gravely insulting Jessa, but it doesn’t seem to have worked.

She scoffs. “Really? Because when she was laying naked next to you on the night of Durin’s Day, it certainly looked like you were sleeping with her! Seriously, sleeping with a consort that is so near to giving birth?!”

His face freezes, but he does not let her go. “It did not mean anything, it was a mere--tradition.”

“That’s strange, because when you were whispering those sweet things you in her ear it did not look like nothing.”

“I—I—if this is about you being jealous you should know you have nothing to fear. I only ask for her company out of tradition and because you—you—you refuse to show me what I mean to you, if I mean anything to you!” Thorin blurts out, stumbling over his words. “And she was never afraid to do so.” He adds.

She sneers “If you like that so much, if you like her so much, by all means, go live with her, I won’t stop you. But then don’t come here, asking me what to do with me and all that crap. Just leave me alone or let me go.”

“No.”

“What do you mean, ‘no’?”

“Exactly what I said. No. I am not going to leave you alone nor am I going to let you go. You are going to tell me what that trial was about, and we are going to work out how to become normal again.”

“Normal again? You hit me and you think we will be normal and happy together again?!”

He lets go if her a little. “I-I’m sorry, I..”

She steps back. “Don’t bother. Just go be with your family.” She walks to the bathroom, locking the door, leaving Thorin standing in the bedroom.

Emma runs a bath and steps into the hot water, tears already rolling over her cheeks. As she sits down, she starts sobbing and continues to do so for an hour. Exhausted by the emotions and with swollen eyes, she gets out of the bath, dries herself out and crawls into bed.

 

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The next morning Emma gets up and starts her run as usual, but when she arrives at the plateau, she sees two men standing there. When she sees their shadows first, she thinks they are Elrond and one of his sons, but then she sees they are dwarves. She turns around, feeling uncomfortable to take a break with them standing there, but then they bow.

“Your majesty.” They say.

“Masters dwarf.” She nods her head.

“You have everything arranged very nicely for yourself, don’t you, your majesty?”

“I am afraid I do not know what you are referring to. If you have a request to make, please attend the king’s court.”

“We have already seen what happens at the king’s court, especially when you hold it.”

She frowns. This does not sound too well and she is starting to feel uncomfortable to say the least.

“Have you forgotten, your majesty? Our sister, attacked by your brother. Him ruled not guilty, by you of course.”

They are approaching her now, one to her front and one to her back, the one approaching her from her front pulling out a dagger.

“Do you know she had the child early because of all the stress and the trauma?”

“I did not. Now, if there was nothing else, I wish you both a good day.”

Emma wants to run away, but is stopped by the man behind her. She is getting afraid, but does not want to show them.

“Do I really have to remind you that I am the queen?”

“Somehow, that does not seem to matter in this moment, does it?” the man in her front grinns.

They come up to her closer, and she feels their breaths on her skin, warm in the freezing winter morning.

“I think a lesson would be in order, don’t you brother?” the man in her back says. They move in closer to her, the man in the back holding her, the one in the front grabbing her breasts, tugging on the laces of her breaches and putting his hands between her legs, roughly entering her with his fingers.

After an initial moment of being unable to do anything, Emma knows this is the time to act, so she hits the man in her back with her elbow, him bending over in pain, and then wants to hit the man in front of her. But he is prepared and blocks her punch. The next things she feels is him grabbing her hands and holding them firmly while keeping his knife against her throat. The man in the back has managed to compose himself and now running his hands over her bottom, squeezing the flesh while breathing heavily, their sour, garlic smelling breath on her neck. But both are startled when Melo walks up onto the platform. They look at him for a moment, the man in the front slowly slipping his fingers out of her, and then she feels a sharp pain in her lower belly.

Melo had followed his sister to the plateau to talk to her, make things right between them again. But then he sees her being held by two men whom, when they see him, grin viciously and stab her. He sees he slowly fall to the ground and the men walking away, further up the mountain, making no real haste as they know he won’t leave his sister lying there in pain to persue them.

“Namad!” he yells when he hurries to her.

The only thing she can utter before she falls unconscious is a soft ‘nadad…’.

He closes her breeches as well as he can and then scoops her up as if she weighs no more than a newborn babe, hurrying towards the main entrance of Erebor with her in his arms.

 

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Thorin is having a late breakfast with his guests, carefully avoiding the topic of his wife and what happened last night, when a guard comes running in at full speed, almost bumping in to Thorin’s throne.

“Your majesty, it is her highness the queen!” The guard says with ragged breath. “Something has happened during her run and she is in the infirmery now!”

Thorin jumps up and starts running, quickly followed by Elrond, Elladan and Elrohir. When they reach the infirmery, the healer tells them Emma is already in surgery.

“What the hell happened?!” Thorin bellowes.

“We believe your wife has been stabbed, your highness.”

“Stabbed?! But..how? Where?”

“She was not conscious when her brother brought her in, but he said it happened on the mountain.”

“How bad is it?” Thorin asks the healer without even looking at Melo whom has been sitting in the infirmery since he brought Emma in.

“She was stabbed in her lower abdomen, but no major arteries have been damaged. We have to wait how the surgery goes to know if there will be any permanent damage.”

“I will send for Thranduil’s healers.” Elrond says, and Elrohir runs back to the dinner hall to ask Thranduil.

“It might be a while, your highness, perhaps you would be more comfortable to wait in your rooms. I will send someone when we know more.”

But Thorin takes a seat in one of the chairs in the infirmery, doing his utmost best to ignore Melo en to refrain from firing questions at him, as do Elrond and Elladan. Two hours later, a healer comes to them. They almost jump out of their chairs.

“The surgery went well, she should wake up shortly.”

They sigh in relief. “And?’ Thorin asks.

“We do not yet know if there will be any long-term effects.”

“And what long-term effects could there be?”

“Perhaps we could discuss this in private?’ the healer suggests, beckoning Thorin to his office.

Thorin follows him and sits down. “Well?”

“It is possible that her highness might not be able to have children, but we can not be sure. In any case, we would strongly advice against this for the coming year.”

Thorin sits quietly, having to processs this information and all that has happened.

“Has, eeeh, anything else, eeeh, happened?” he asks after a while

“I can not be sure, but it did not look like she was forced to anything. Perhaps her brother can shine a light on this matter.” The healer says tentatively.

Thorin rubs his face with his hands and then gets up, walking to the room Emma is in, ignoring questioning looks from the others. As he enters the room, he sees her lying in her bed, almost disappearing in between the pillows and the blanket. He kneels besides the bed and takes her hand, slowly stroking it. She softly groans and starts to open her eyes, looking around to find out where she is. Then, she looks down, and remembers what happened.

**”Brother, where the hell are you, you stupid, half-witted, wretched asshole?!”** she grunts out, still disoriented from the strong sedative they gave her for the surgery.

“Emma? Emma, you are in the infirmery, are you alright?” Thorin asks, not understanding what she is saying.

She looks at him, completely confused, but then looks at the door again.

”Get him in here! Get my brother here!”

Elrond and Elladan have also walked into the room when they heard Emma’s voice.Thorin clenches his teeth and jerks his head at Elladan. “Get Melo.” He grunts.

“Emma, how are you feeling?” Thorin asks again, but she is already falling asleep again.

The healer comes in, feeling Emma’s pulse and her temperature, and then sits on her other side, waiting for her to wake up again.

A few moment later, Melo comes running into the room, evoking angry frowns from all present and waking up Emma.

**”Namad, are you alright?”**

**”You miserable piece of shit!”** Emma starts, breathing heavy and holding her belly in pain. **”This is all your fault!”** She tries to throw the cup of water standing next to her bed to him, but does not quite reach him, shattering on the floor instead. **”You will not tell a single soul about this and fix it!”**

Melo’s face turns completely pale, and they are all looking at him to find out what this is about. **”Like before?”** he asks

**”Like before.”** Emma confirms with a small nod. **”And keep your mouth shut about everything, do you hear me?!”

Melo takes a step back and bows. After that, he wants to leave the infirmery, but is stopped by Thorin gripping his arm tightly.

“What is she saying?” Thorin grunts to Melo, appaled that he has to turn to him to find out what is wife is saying.

“She-eeeh-she.”

**”Don’t!”** Emma warns him.

“What?!” Thorin grunts.

Melo looks from his sister to her husband and back, trying to make a decision.

“Well?” Elrond says, standing behind Melo, almost towering over him.

“She asked me to handle some small matters she was working on. Please excuse me.” He wrings himself out of Thorin’s grip and swiftly leaves.

“What did you do to her?!” Thorin bellowes at his back, but he keeps walking, not even acknwoledging he heard the yelling king.

The noise has coaused the healer to look alarmed, and he starts ushering everyone out of the room. They don’t leave the infirmery however, Thorin pacing the waiting room and furiously glancing at Elrond.

After a long while, he finally bursts: “What do you know about this?” he grunts.

“Not as much as Melo, I suspect.” Elrond answers as calmly as he can. “But I do not think this was a coincidence, more likely a retaliation.”

“A..a retaliation?!” Thorin sputters. “Who would want……”And then it dawns on him. “You will tell me what happened with that trial, NOW!”

Elrond sighs and hesitates for a bit, but then tells Thorin what he knows, the dwarf king turning paler by the minute.

“And you did not think of sharing this information with me immediately?!” he says to Elrond, his trembling voice betraying how angry he is. “You let my wife carry this burden all by herself, you let me think that it was all just jealousy and spite from her side?!”

“She told me to leave immediately, and as Durin’s Day had passed, she had every right.” Elrond weakly says.

“She told you, oh, right, that makes it all alright!”

“Now hold on.” Elladan interjects, not appreciating the sarcsm coming from Thorin. “My father…”

But Thorin does not let him finish. “You have all come here, gotten into her life without even knowing her and stirring al kind of shit up! Find that morronic brother of her and make sure he doesn’t do anything rash that I will have to fix! And tell the guards to keep Jessa’s brothers in their house. They will know where to find them.”

Elrond and Elladan walk out the room and Thorin goes back to sitting next to Emma. When he enters the room, he sees the healer talking to her. A tear rolls over Emma’s cheek, and he rushes to her side.

“It will all be alright, azyungal, I will make sure of it.” He turns to the healer. “Tell her, tell her it will be alright!”

“We will do anything we can to make sure there as little lasting effect, your highness.” The healer says carefully.

“Thank you.” Emma says before Thorin can say anything else, and the healer takes his leave.


	25. One

She stares at the ceiling, and Thorin takes her hand.

“We—I have been a terrible husband.” He says with a voice full of remorse.

Emma turns her head at him, watching him rub his forehead.

“I wanted nothing more than to have you as my wife, but when I had you, I did not take care of you as I should have.”

She frowns, not knowing where this is going.

“And now you have gotten hurt, because I did not make the effort of finding out why you did what you did.”

“Who told you?” she asks in a sharp voice.

“Does it matter? What matters is that I want you to be happy.”

“And?”

“And if that is not with me, then I will accept that.”

“Do you mean to tell me that you will not stop me if I want to leave you?”

He sighs and closes his eyes. “Yes. I will give you whatever you need to go wherever you want.”

“So now that it is uncertain if I can give you heirs, you basically want me to leave.”

His eyes open wide. “No! No, no, no, no, that’s not what I mean! If you stay, I promise to worship the ground you walk on, children or no children, but if you feel you will be more happy elsewhere, I will do anything to make that possible for you.”

 

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Elrond has sent Elladan to find Melo and is now sitting with Eliana.

“How set in stone is Emma’s marriage?” he asks her after informing her of what had happened and assuring her everything would be alright.

She sighs and gives him an indulgent smile. “I told you before how these things work but you didn’t listen because you have always disliked the way dwarves view women.”

“But now I need to know.”

Eliana crooks her eyebrow with a little smile. “Dwarven usually only marry their One; the one person in the world that is a perfect match for them. A bond with a One can never be broken, no matter what happens, and the love between Ones will never cease. However, arranged marriages, which are usual for royals and nobles but not for others, are arranged by the parents or advisors and mostly do not take love in account.”

Elronds scoffs a bit but says nothing.

“However, Emma is Thorin’s One. But that does not mean he is also her One, as being one’s One does not mean the love is reciprocated.”

“What does this have to do with their marriage?” Elrond asks impatiently.

“A marriage with the One will never end, as the love never ends. But in an arranged marriage, the love can end or may not even exist in the first place. So in theory, the marriage can end.”

“In theory?”

“It rarely happens, as the marriage is often arranged to create an allience or merge families, and the husband and wife will probably not want to endanger the arrangements. But in Emma’s marriage, this is not the case. Thorin wanted her, and her father wanted an alliance with Erebor. But because Melo has now taken the throne, and Thorin will probably end any treaties because of what Melo has done, the marriage is not held together by it.”

“So she can leave him?”

Eliana has to think for a moment. “It would be rather late, as she has been marked and the marriage has been consumated. But then again, they do not have children yet.”

“She can not leave him once she has children?”

“You know very well that is nearly impossible.”

“And what would it mean for her if she leaves him?”

“She would have no value whatsoever anymore.”

“What?!”

“I told you you didn’t want to hear this. The value of a dwarven woman is measured either by her capability for making political marriages or by her virginity. Emma is not a virgin anymore and only has a very minor title of her own, so she can not make a political marriage. The only option for her would be to marry for love.”

“Why does she have to marry?”

“Because dwarven women are not made to be alone. Not by nature and not by upbringing. And we are certainly not made or raised to make our own way in the world.”

Elond slowly nods, chewing on ideas in his head.“What if I officially recognize her as my child, she would have a grander position then.”

“Not for dwarves.”

“But what if she is more elf than we think. What if she does not have just a single One, but can love more than once, like elves?”

“It does not change anything about her position.”

“Should I—should I ask her to come with us?”

“I—“ Eliana sighs deeply. “I have not spent time with her, I don’t know her and I don’t know if she’ll want to. But I do know that if Thorin finds out you have asked her, he will be livid. And he will stop at nothing to get her back; she is his One.”

 

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“Will you tell me if I am your One?” Thorin softly asks Emma when she does not answer his question about her wanting to leave or not.

She looks at him, and sees a vulnerability she has never seen in him before. For a while she says nothing and fidgetes with the blanket. “Does it matter?” She finally asks. “I clearly am not yours, so what do my feelings matter?”

Thorin’s face crumples in aghast. “Whatever made you think you are not my One?!”

“You.” She coldly. “You slept with Jessa. Multiple times, I suspect.”

“That—that has nothing to do with you being my One, but rather with you not trusting me!”

“I think you have effectively proven I have no reason to.”

“You know very well what I mean!” Thorin hisses angrily. “You are here, you do what I want, but I still don’t know wether you do that because you love me or because you feel obligated because I am your husband.”

“Again, it does not matter. And if you are not happy with me as a wife, end our marriage. Give the uncertainty of me being able to have children as the reason.”

“Stop that! Stop being aloof! I need to know wether I am your One or not and I need to know wether you’ll stay! I can’t take the uncertainty anymore, so tell me!”

A silence falls between them, but as he is almost giving up, she nods. “You are.” She says quietly, almost ashamed. And this statement deflates any of the anger that is between them, clearing the air of resentment.

He looks up, a rare smile appearing on his face. “Will you—will you stay then?”

“No.”

“No?! But I—you said--.”

“You are a king Thorin, you need heirs. And I don’t enjoy being humiliated, and I believe you have been doing exactly that for the past month.”

He grabs her hand tighter and sits next to her on the bed, stroking her hair with his other hand. “We both know this isn’t about me sleeping with Jessa, you don’t really care about that, you see it as your atonement. This is about you. Why do keep wanting to cut yourself short for others? You did it for your brother and now you try to do it for me. I have heirs, if I don’t have more children, Fili will be king and his children after him.”

“But you want more children.”

“I would like more, but only with you.”

She starts crying. “It is all my fault. If I had seen what Melo was up to earlier, none of this would have happened. Jessa would be fine, Melo would be fine, you would be spending time with your child, everything would have been fine!”

He carefully puts his forehead to hers. “Nothing of this is your fault. It is the fault of the bad judgement of others. Now lie back and let me take care of you.”

He sits next to her again and softly starts massaging her head. After a few minutes, he says:

“Emma?”

“Hmmm.”

“What happened? Did anyone—I mean—did anyone force himself on you?”

Her eyes fly open, but she shakes her head, avoiding looking at him. He watches her expression carefully, and then asks:

“Did they do anything else?”

She looks away. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Then tell me when you’re ready” he softly says, knowing not to push her now. “But what do you want me to do about them?”

“Nothing. I don’t know who they were, so nothing can be done.”

He eyes her a bit mockingly. “You don’t know who they were?”

She turns away from his gaze. “I don’t. And I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Tell me who to punish for this!” Thorin pushes.

She still doesn’t look at him. “You want to punish someone for this? Me. Punish me. Stay with Jessa a little longer, send Melo away. Do what you want.” She whispers.

Thorin pales. “This is not your fault, azyungal.” He whispers.

“I am tired, Thorin, I need to sleep some more.”

He nods sourly in acceptance, not wishing to argue with his wife or push her further. He presses a kiss on her forehead and leaves the room.

After walking around his kingdom for a while, he finds himself in front of Balin’s study. He softly knocks on the door and enters. He sees Thorin sitting in his chair, staring into the flames of the hearth. “What can I do for you, laddie?” Balin asks.

“I found out what happened with the trial.”

“Then tell me, I have been trying to find out for a month now.”

Thorin tells him the story, and Balin nods. “I figuered it would be something like that. And now I hear Emma has been attacked?”

Thorin can only nod. Balin puts a hand on his shoulder, and to his surprise, Thorin’s voice cracks and the king starts crying, his face in his hands. “I have been such a horrible husband! I have not protected her, but instead, hurt her myself.”

“There now, laddie.You did not know what exactly has happened.”

“I hit her, Balin. I hit her while she just tried to keep the peace!”

“Aye, you did. And you deserve to feel guilty about that. But you didn’t know all the facts. She should have told you, she should have trusted you.”

“But I should have known, and I should have taken care of her. And now she might not be able to have children!” Thorin says, still sobbing into his hands.

Balin gasps. “Did they…?”

Thorin shakes his head. “No, not that. But something has happened, but she does not want to talk about it nor does she or her brother want to tell me who it was. And I don’t want to press her. What am I going to do, Balin?” He says desperately.

“Do you know why we normaly have such a long honeymoon?’ Balin asks him.

Thorin looks at him, surprised by the unexpected question, and shakes his head.

“For the husband and the wife to get used to eachother, but also to fully trust eachother. You and Emma did not have that, and given both your and her nature, you really needed it. So if you want to know what I think you should do: take her somewhere and have a honeymoon. Visit her lands and her house in Rivendell, spend a forthnight in that inn in the Shire, I don’t know, but go somewhere with the two of you.”

“She has a house in Rivendell?”

“Aye, didn’t you know that? Elrond gifted it to her right after the trial. He had it officially registered with me as her personal property since then.”

“Do you think she’ll want to go there?”

“Perhaps. You can at least ask.”

“And Erebor?”

“You have trained Fili an Kili well, and I shall be here to assist them.”

“Thank you, Balin, I think I will take your offer.”

Balin smiles. “Now go sit with her, you don’t want her to be alone when she wakes.”

He looks at the Thorin as the king leaves the room, a cloud of worry shadowing his face. Emma had not told Thorin she had been gifted a house; perhaps she wanted it to be a secret. Perhaps she wanted to leave Thorin. If she did, Balin could not blame her. A lot had happened between them, before and after the marriage, and a dwarven man hitting his wife was unheard of; shamefull. An immediate reason for divorce even. But she wasn’t the easiest to get along with either. She was so—closed, so difficult to read. And the marriage had been madness to start with, she had not even come of age. But he had seen the looks other men gave her, commoners, nobles and kings alike. Could it be possible that some were waiting already for her’s and Thorin’s marriage to fall apart? He had no idea what would happen to Thorin if she left, but it would not be pretty. However, they had to fix their problems themselves, otherwise things would never change. They had to start trusting eachother. Or rather: she had to start trusting him.

 

The next morning when Thorin enters Emma’s room in the infirmery, he sees quite a lot of people gathered there: her handmaidens, Elrond, Elladan and Elrohir, the two Erebor healers and an unknown elf. The healers adamantly shake their heads, while the elves are talking to them, gesturing with their hands. He enters the room and all become quiet.

“Your highness.” The handmaidens and the healers bow, taking a step back so Thorin can walk past them to Emma’s side.

“What is going on here, why is my wife not resting?” he asks.

“Our healer has arrived, Thorin, but your healers won’t let him examine her.” Elrond says, looking at the two dwarven healers grudgingly.

“We wanted to wait for your permission, your highness, as her highness does not want to be examined right now.”

“Leave the room, all of you.” Thorin says, looking at Emma whom seems to be at the brink of either crying or throwing the object closest to her at the person closest to her.

When all have left, he sits next to her on the bed, cupping her face with his hands. “How are you feeling?”

“I feel a lot better, I do not need to be examined yet again.”

“What is the objection against letting him see your belly? It would make Elrond feel better, knowing an elf has seen you.”

“He doesn’t—he doesn’t want to just look at my belly.”

“What does he---aaah, right. And you don’t want that.”

She shakes her head, tears streaming from her eyes, trying to avoid his gaze.

“Did they force you after all?” he softly asks, afraid of the answer he might get.

“No, they didn’t. I already said I don’t want to walk about it!”

The elven healer enters the room again. “Your highness, I did not mean to upset your wife, I merely wish to help her. As you know, elves differ from dwarves, and as she is half elf, I might be able to assist in her recovery, perhaps speed it up and help prevent any lasting damage.”

Thorin looks up. “Her highness does not want to.”

“I could make her sleep during the examination, and you could be present, she would not notice any of it.”

Thorin looks at Emma again and wipes the tears of her cheeks. “Will you stay with me then?” she softly asks.

‘I will be right here the whole time, holding your hand.”

“Fine then, but don’t put me to sleep.”

“Are you sure, your highness? It would make it more comfortable for you.” The healer asks, but she shakes her head and lies back on the bed. The healer locks the door to her room and then sits at the end of her bed.

Thorin sits next to her, holding her hand and stroking her hair. The healer pushes up her nightgown, so she is naked from the waist down. When he softly pushes her legs apart, she clenches her jaw and looks at the ceiling. She tries to compose herself, but when his fingers enter her, she yelps and clenches Thorin’s hand.

>“Sshh, azyungal. I’m here, nothing will happen.”< He whispers in her ear.

The healer softly presses on her belly, and she moans when pain shoots through her. Thorin’s head jerks to the healer’s “Do you have to be so rough?!”

“Just one more moment, your highness.” The healer quickly says.

And indeed, a few seconds later he pulls Emma’s nightgown back down and washes his hands. “It all looks rather well, I would even say that you may continue your recovery in your own rooms.”

“And, eeh, for the rest?’ Thorin asks.

“I will need to ask some questions, but they are of a rather personal nature, so perhaps you wouldn’t mind leaving for a moment, your highness?”

Thorin looks at Emma and sees she is already turning red again. He remembers how uncomforatble she felt speaking about such things last time, so he kisses her forehead. “I will be right outside.”

The healer sits next to her on the bed, looking at her and holding a small notebook.

“When was the last time you bled?”

“About three and a half weeks ago.” she whispers.

“And are you regular?”

She nods.

“So you expect the next time to be in a couple of days?”

She nods again.

“And have you and your husband married physically yet?”

She frowns. “What do you mean?”

“Have you layn together?”

Her face now becomes more red than a tomato and she nods again.

“Well, you seem to be healing very quickly, I think that is your elven side. And if you bleed as usual within the next couple of days, I think you will have no problem in carrying a child.”

“Would I have to wait with that? A child, I mean.”

He looks pensive for a moment, but then says:”It would be better if you did, for a year or so, but if you become pregnant, I do not think there will be many adverse effects for you.”

She nods, and whispers some words of thanks to the healer. But instead of leaving, he looks at her. “How is it that you feel so ashamed speaking about these things?”

She looks at him in surprise. “I—I don’t know. I just never spoke of it. Will you keep your findings and what I said between us?”

“Of course I will.” He pauses a moment, looking at her intensely. “You know, there aren’t many like you, half dwarf and half elf, I mean. You should visit Rivendell sometimes, I think you will find great insights there.”And with those words, he gets up, bows his head to Emma and walks out of the room.

 

Thorin sees the healer walking out of the room, and immediately enters it himself. Emma is lying on her side, trying to sleep. He sits next to her and strokes her hair. “Shall I have your rooms readied so you can recover there?” he whispers.

She sighs in relief. “That would be great!” she says.

He laughs. “That bad?”

“People are still staring at me all the time, as usual, only now I am in my nightgown without any make-up on and without means to send them away. I feel rather disadvantaged.” She says dryly.

He laughs again. “Get some sleep, I will tell your handmaidens to ready our rooms. When they are ready, I will come and get you.”

“Bring them with you, I don’t want the whole of Erebor looking at me while looking like this.”

He nods and presses a kiss on her head and then walks out of the room. She slumbers for a while, but is then awoken by her handmaidens.

**”Emma! Thorin told us you can go back to your rooms!”**

She yawns and stretches a bit. **”Thank Mahal for that! I am going mad here!”**

**”And you want us to take your there?”**

**”No, I want you to make me presentable so I will not look like a sack of potatoes when I walk to my rooms.”**

**”Somehow I don’t think you will be walking anywhere.”** Jalila giggles. **”Thorin is fussing around to get everything ready as if you were a newborn babe. My bet is on him carrying you!”**

Now they are all giggling. **”He has been acting quite—different…”** Emma says.

**”Good different or bad different?”** Mina asks.

**”How things are looking now: good different. But when he starts carrying me, I think it will be bad different.”**

**”Come on then, let’s get you in a dress and show him you are perfectly capable of walking by yourself.”**

Emma gets out of the bed, but almost doubles over in pain and has to hold on to the bed to keep herself upright.

**”Are you alright?!”** Shana alsmost yells as they all three rush forward to help her.

**”Just give me a moment.”** Emma pants, holding on to her belly.

**”Just sit on the bed, we’ll put your dress on like that. But are you sure this is a good idea?”**

**”I will not have everyone staring at me while I look like an idiot!”** Emma says.

Her maidens hesitate for a moment, looking at eachother, but then start taking Emma’s nightgown off and putting her dress on. They help her up to close the dress and start on her hair and make-up when she sits back down again.

When they are finished, Thorin walks in. “Right, So, your rooms are all ready and dinner is waiting for you.”he walks towards her and wants to pick her up to carry her, but hears her maidens giggle. He looks at them with slightly squint eyes, but they don’t say anything.

“I do not need you to carry me. I can walk just fine by myself.” Emma pushes herself up from the bed, cringing inwardly, but determinded to not show him.

He quickly support her by holding her waist and her arm. “You can’t walk through the passageways yourself, and I suppose you do not want half of Erebor staring at you.” he says with authority in his voice.

But she keeps going, tough now towards the passageways and supported by Thorin and followed by her handmaidens, and after a while they reach her rooms. He helps her into the bed where she falls asleep again, worn out by the short walk. She is not awoken by the soft knock on the bedroomdoor and Thorin stepping out of the room.

“We have a situation.” Dwalin grunts at Thorin.

Thorin raises an eyebrow. “A situation?”

“i think you have to see it for yourself.”

Thorin looks into the bedroom and sees Emma still sleeping peacefully. He softly closes the door and follows Dwalin, whom leads him to the throneroom. When he sees Emma’s and his own throne, he immediately stops, taking in the scene.

Blood is smeared over the trones and dripping from the seats onto the floor. On each throne lies a cut off head, the features wrought into expressions of agony; no doubt the last feeling the previous owners of the heads had. He has to look more intendly to recognize to whom the heads belonged, as they are shaven, runes shaming the previous owners carved into them. But then he recognizes the features. The heads are those of Jessa’s brothers.

“The bodies?” He asks Dwalin.

“Found on the bottom of a mine shaft, under one of the more obscure overpasses.”

“Get them up, put them in the proper stone boxes and return them to Jessa. And get the thrones cleaned.”

“And the investigation?” Dwalin asks.

Thorin stills for a moment. “Make it look like there is one. But you will not find the perpetrator.” He finally says.

When he walks back to his chambers, he feels Dwalin’s gaze burning in his back, but he does not turn around.

 

Emma sleeps untill the next morning, when she is awoken by a servant bringing breakfast. She looks around the room and sees Thorin sitting in a chair next to her bed. He smiles at her.

“Goodmorning.”

She smiles back, yawn and stretches a bit, carefull not to use the muscles of her abdomen. “Goodmorning. Should you not be holding court?”

“Fili, Kili and Balin are taking over my responsabilities for a while.”

“What are you going to do then?”

“Spend time with you, of course! Now, would you like breakfast in bed or at the table?”

“Hmmmm, in bed?”

He puts the things she likes on a plate and gives it to her, taking his seat beside the bed again, watching as she eats. When she has finished her breakfast, he clears his throat.

‘Ahum..Would you, eeeh, when you feel better, would you like to go somewhere? With me?”

“Go somewhere? Where?”

“Where ever you like. Perhaps you would like to inspect your lands here and in Rivendell, or go to an Inn somewhere?”

Emma blushes a bit as he mentiones her appartment in Rivendell, as she has not yet mentioned it to him. “It really doesn’t mean anyhting, I just—eeh—had not mentioned it yet, as we..eeh..”

“I know. But would you like to visit there?’

She nods. “I think I would.”

He comes to lie next to her. “When would you like to go?”

“Whenever you like.”

“if we took a carriage, would you like to go in a week or two?”

She smiles. “Yes.” But then her face turns into a pensive frown.

“But?” Thorin asks carefully.

“But nothing.”

“Then why you look like you are thinking quite hard on something?”

“I don’t know what to wear.” She admits sheepishly.

“If that is your only objection, it is easily solved. The seemstress will come by this afternoon.” He smiles at her.

“I need to inform you of something.” He says after a moment.

“What?” She asks.

“The shaven heads of Jessa’s brothers were found laying on our thrones last night.”

“How terrible.” Emma says dryly.

“Do you know anything about this?” He asks.

“I think my whereabouts yesterday can be confirmed by quite a lot of people.”

“And your brother?”

“What about my brother?”

“Does he know something about this? About what happened? He was the one to bring you to the infirmery.”

“Why don’t we let this matter rest, hmmm? Even if my brother knows something about this, you can’t do anything about it. Rape may not fall under diplomatic immunity, but murder does.”

Thorin looks at her, a little shocked by the coldness in her voice, but he does not say anything about it. Instead, he pulls her closer and urges her to sleep a little more.

She rests her head on his chest and for a while they lie there like that, untill he notices she has fallen asleep again. Carefully he slides away, softly placing her head on the pillow. He wipes her hair away from her face, admiring her relaxed features. After a moment, he silently walks out of the room, orders a servant to bring the royal seemstress that afternoon and sets out to find Elrond. He finds the elf lord in his chambers, talking to lady Eliana. When Thorin is announced, they both get up and give him a small bow.

“Thorin, what may we do for you?” Elrond asks with a smile.

“I am going away for a couple of days with Emma, and she has expressed her wish to visit Rivendell.”

“That is very good to hear. Is she feeling well enough already?”

“She will be.”

“Then please, come for as long as you like.”


	26. Promisses

The days pass, and about a week later, Emma wakes up in the middle of the night to find bloodstains on her nightgown. She carefuly gets up, as not to wake Thorin, and slips into the bathroom to clean herself and put new underwear and sleepwear on. Her relief is so great, that she feels tears streaming over her cheeks, and she has to sit down while she sobs.

Thorin, awoken by the soft sounds, jumps up and runs into the bathroom, startling his wife to the point that she jumps up.

“What is it? Are you in pain, where does it hurt?!”

She sits down again, wiping her tears away. “I’m sorry to have woken you, it is silly.”

His eyes fall on her stained nightgown

“What? Tell me where you are hurt! Is your wound bleeding?”

As she sees what he saw, she turns bright red and quickly picks up the nightgown to throw in in the laundry. But he takes her shoulders and gently pushes her down onto the bench.

“Just wait here, I will fetch a healer.”

“No, Thorin, wait. It is—it is not blood from any—wound.”

“Then what?”

She sighs in frustration. “You really are the most thickheaded dwarf in this mountain full of half-wits!”

He looks at her in confusion and surprise, his eyebrows going up. “If you are not hurt, then why are you bleeding and crying?”

“Because it is from my monthly bleeds, which means I probably can have children, and I am crying because I am happy!” she almost yells out.

He takes her face in his hands and kisses her tenderly, and she feels the broad smile on his lips. Then, he picks her up and carries her to the bed, where he softly puts her down. He gets on the bed and lies behind her, his arms around her and his hand stroking her lower belly. “You have no idea how happy this makes me.” He whispers in her ear.

He pulls her closer to him, and they fall asleep like that. The next days, Emma stays in bed, resting to feel better as soon as possible.

On the early morning of the third day, Thorin is informed by Fili’s valet that his presence at court is needed. He nods at the valet and looks at his still sleeping wife, who is starting to rouse. When she slightly opens her eyes, he smiles and softly presses a kiss to her lips.

“I have been asked to hold court today, but would you care to join me?”

“To do what?” she asks in a sleepy voice.

“To show everyone that you are healthy.”

She bites her lip a bit, thinking, and then says: “Alright, that will be nice. If you arrange breakfast first.”

“Your wish is my command.” He grinns, and asks one of the servants to serve breakfast in their rooms.

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Emma sits next to Thorin on her throne as court starts. She had expected it to be quite boring, but finds herself interested in the inhabitants of Erebor and their petitions to the king. But as almost everyone has asked the king for what they want and have heard his judgement, she sees Jessa standing in the back of the courtroom, glancing angrily at her. The last two other petitioners present stand in front of the king, asking for his permission to specialize themselves in their craft, which he grants, and then it is Jessa’s turn.

She walks towards them, Ferin in her arms. “I want to know who did it to them, Thorin. And I want you to keep the promiss that you made me.”

“I have no idea who did it. An investigation is being carried out as we speak.” He says curtly.

“Do not lie to me!” Jessa almost shrieks.

Emma looks at her husband, but her attention is quickly drawn back to Jessa as the former consort starts to speak again.

“I want you to keep the promiss you made me.”

“What promiss?”

“That you would arrange a marriage with a nobleman for me.”

“But, eeh, Jessa, I---I mean, you did not have a child then!” Thorin mutters. “I can not ask any nobleman to marry you now that you have a child.”

“A promiss is a promiss, Thorin.”

“I know, but what am I to do?”

“There are two noblemen in Erebor you can ask to marry me.”

“You don’t mean..? You can not mean that! How would you imagine that working?”

“A lot better than things are working for me now!”

“Tell me another way to make your life easier, and I shall, but you have to understand that that would make things rather complicated!”

Emma has no idea where their conversation is going, but she is certain she does not like it. She looks at Thorin and at Jessa, but can’t make anything of it.

“I do not care, Thorin. A promiss is to be upheld.”

“I—I need to think about this.”

“I know, but I expect your answer shortly.”

And she walks out of the courtroom.

Thorin gets up and helps Emma up. Together they walk to their rooms where they sit in the sitting room. Thorin has the servants bring tea, and they say nothing while they wait for the tea to be brought to them. When it is served, Emma looks at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Well?’

“I promised to arrange a marriage to a nobleman for her.”

“And?”

“She has a child now, so I can not ask anyone.”

“She said there are two you can ask.”

“Yes.”

“Do I really have to pull it out of you?!”

“She meant Fili and Kili.” He says hesitantly.

“You are not serious, right?”

“I am afraid I am.”

“Then you have a huge problem, as you promised me she would not cause any embarrasing situations. Imagine how familydinners are going to be: one of your nephews raising your illigitimate son with a wife that has been raped by my brother.” Emma says in a raised voice

He sighs and rubs his forehead. “I have to talk to Balin about this. And to Fili and Kili about her brothers.”

“Don’t tell me you are acually thinking of this!” she scoffs. “It is too propostorous to even mention!”

“And what do you suggest I do then?” he says in a weary voice.

“Have a familymember arrange her a husband.”

He gets up. “I promised. I have to talk to Fili, Kili and Balin.” And he walks out of the room.

 

Shortly after, Elrond walks to Emma’s rooms, and is let in by one of her handmaidens. He finds Emma in her bedroom, lying on the bed for a small nap. He sits next to her and softly strokes her flowy hair. But she wakes and is disoriented for a moment, and she almost jumps up, backing away from him. But he pulls her close and hold her tight.

“Sssshhh, it’s your ada.”

“What?”

“It is Sindarin for father.”

“Yes, I know that!” she says a bit murky.

Emma relaxes a bit and reclines against the many pillow in her bed, looking questioning at him, one eyebrow raised.

“I wanted to see how you are.”

“I am fine. Why are you here?” She says curtly.

“Because I want to know how you are of course.”

“I told you to leave.”

“You did. And I left. And now I am here again.”

She crosses her arms and looks out of the window, unwilling to look at him.

“You know, Emma, it is not the worst thing in the world to take your words back sometimes, or to just forget you have spoken them, if that puts you in a better situation.”

Although she is still looking out of the window, Elrond sees her chewing her cheek, a tell-tale sign that she is struggling. He softly strokes his hair, half expecting her to jerk away from his touch. But she does not, so he sits a little closer to her.

“How are you really, Emma?” he says, his voice barely more than a whisper.

“I am fine. The pain is mostly gone.”

“And your feelings?”

“Just a bit tired, it will go away.”

“You know I don’t speak of that. I speak about your heart, as I can imagine that some of the things that have happened could cause you to feel bad, about other people but also about yourself.”

She still looks outside, but he sees some tears rolling over her cheeks. But she quickly wipes them away. “It will all be fine.” She says firmly.

He softly pulls her chin with his finger so she is looking at him instead of avoiding him. “Are you sure of that?”

Emma turns her head away, but can’t stop herself from starting to cry. Elrond pulls her closer to him and lets her head rest on his lap as she sobs.

“I just felt so—so dirty and alone.” She cries softly.

His heart breaks, and all he can do is hold her, trying to offer soothing. “Time will make you feel clean again, selde.”

“I felt so powerless.” She sobs

“Will you tell me what happened?”

For a while she says nothing and he just feels her body shudder everytime she sobs, but then she says: “They were waiting for me at the plateau. First I thought it was you and Elladan or Elrohir, but then I saw it were two dwarfs. They started talking about the trial, and what I did to their sister, and they started closing in on me, one in front of me and one behind me. The one in the front had a dagger, and he – he started touching me, putting his fingers…” she starts sobbing again. “And then Thorin left to be with his family and everyone else also left and everyone kept staring at me.”

Elrond finds it a bit difficult to understand what she is saying, he has no idea what she means with Thorin’s new family, and who stared at her, but he knows now is not the time to ask for clarification.He pulls her further up, so she is sitting next to him, her face against his shoulder, and puts his arms around her.

“Have you told Thorin?” he asks when she has calmed down a bit after a while.

She shakes her head. “I don’t want him to know, I do not want to burden him with it and it would only cause me to feel more ashamed.”

He tries to look at her, but she gazes down. “You have nothing to be ashamed about, do you hear me? Nothing at all!”

She looks up at him, and he sees the pain in her eyes and the tears in her eyelashes. He presses a kiss on her forehead. “Sleep some more, it will make you feel better. And in a couple of days, come with me to Rivendell and take your mind of things.”

She nods and lies down, he pulls the covers over her and feels, for the first time, he can actually be a father to her.

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In her slumber, Emma slides closer to Thorin, whom has come back to the room after fruitlessly looking for Balin, Fili and Kili. She puts her arms around him, pushing her body to his. He kisses her chastly on her head and starts stroking her hair. She buries her face in his chest.

“I need you, Thorin.”

“I will be there for you, I promise.”

“I need you now. I need to be close to you.”

She starts kissing his chest, rubbing her thumb over his nipple. His body immediately reacts, but his mind has objections.

“Did the healer say…”

“It is what I need, please, be close to me.”

Her soft plea pushes him over the edge and he puts his hands on her cheeks, pulling her head to his. He groans as he kisses her and with one hand he takes her ass, pulling her even closer to him, grinding his loins to hers. Emma goes to lie on her back and softly pulls him on top of her, tilting her hips to show her readiness. When she looks in his eyes, he sees her need; not for an orgasm, but for being as close as possible to him. He leans on his elbows and alignes with her entrance, and then slowly pushes in. As he does, she puts her arms around his neck, almost clinging on to him, but never breaking eyecontact. He starts to move slowly, and when he hits her spot, she softly whispers his name. He fastens his pace a bit, and she whispers his name more intensely. He feels himself reaching his peak, and when her muscles clench around him as she comes, moaning out his name, so does he. At last, he breaks eyecontact and leans his forehead on hers for a second, and then lies next to her, his arms around her, cradling her to his chest. They stay like that for a while, untill she breaks the silence.

“I need you to do the right thing, Thorin.”

“About what?”

“About Jessa.”

“And what is the right thing?”

“I can not see her everyday, nor can you force one of your nephews to marry her. And what if my brother comes to visit?”

“You brother will never visit here again after this time.” Thorin says coldly.

“No matter what, he is my brother, and I will decide if he comes or not!”

“I am going to talk to Fili, Kili and Balin now, but if she does marry, your brother can not come again. You have to understand that. But I will do the best I can.”

He gets out of the bed and starts to get dressed. He sees Emma looking at him and looks back, questionning.

But she shakes her head. “Nothing, I was just thinking.”

“About what?”

“That things are not working out the way either of us would have liked.”

“No, they did not.” He says softly. “But I will make it up to you.”

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“So uncle, why are we here?” Kili asks curiously

“Right. You see, eeeh, when I started, eeeh, meeting Jessa, I promised her I would arrange a good marriage with a noblemen for her after, eeeh, well after. And she has come to me, urging me to make good on that promiss.”

“But she has a child now!” Balin sputters. “You can not ask any of the nobles to marry her, and none will!”

“And therein lies my problem.”

“Just marry her to some second son in another kingdom.” Kili says.

“I do not want her to leave Erebor.”

“I hope you are not suggesting what I think you are suggesting, are you, Thorin?” Balin says, quicker in his thinking than Fili and Kili.

“It seems to be the only solution.” Thorin admits.

“What?!” Kili almost yells.

“The only solution would be if one of you would marry her.” Balin says.

Fili and Kili look at Balin and Thorin with big eyes, unable to say anything for a moment. But then Fili says:” You can not be serious uncle! Are you really asking us to marry your leftovers?!”

“You both have a right to say no, of course, but it would greatly help me.” Thorin says softly, looking at his hands.

“I—eeeh—we need to think about this.”

“Of course, take as long as you need.”

Fili and Kili walk out of the room, still gobsmacked by their uncle’s request.

“You are handeling many things the wrong way lately, lad.” Balin says to Thorin, almost accusingly.

“I am king, I decide.”Thorin says as a defensive reaction.

“Aye. But remember: if you make the decision, you carry the responsability.”

“And what would you suggest I do instead?”

They talk about possible solutions untill the heart in the hall almost dies down, and after Thorin walks to his room, his head throbbing. When he enters his rooms, he sees several empty ale cups, and understands Fili and Kili must have come here to talk to Emma. He wants to sit next to her, explain everything, but sees she is already asleep, so he just quietly lies next to her and falls asleep himself.

 


	27. Goodbyes

The next morning, he wakes up a bit disoriented, and notices it is quite late already. Normally, if he didn’t wake by himself, he would have been woken by his wife or her handmaidens entering the room. He looks around, but does not see any sign of activity in his bedroom; no dirty training clothes, no make up at Emma’s vanity.

But then he looks at his drawer, and his blood turns to ice. There, in a neat row, lie all the courting gifts he gave Emma. He jumps up, and sees a small, handwritten note

 

_You need to marry her yourself, so your son will actually be raised as your son and you don’t have to force Fili or Kili._

_I’m sorry_

_I love you._

 

He quickly puts on some leather trousers and a tunic, and runs over to Elrond’s rooms, throwing the door open without knocking or announcing himself.

“Where is she?’ he bellows.

Elrond, Elladan and Elrohir come running from the dining room.

“Where is she?!” Thorin grunts.

“I—we—did you lose Emma?!” Elrond stutters.

Thorin hears the sincerity of his surprise in his tone, and his angers quickly changes into dispare. “You do not know where she is?”

“I have no idea!” Elrond says, but Thorin is already running out of his rooms, leaving Emma’s father and her brothers stunned.

He runs over to Melo’s rooms, hoping his brother in law is still in Erebor. Again, he enters the rooms without knocking or announcing himself.

“Do you know where she is?” he yells.

“Emma, you mean?’ Melo asks.

“Of course Emma, who else?” Thorin grunts.

“She was here late last night, but I have not seen her today.”

“How late?”

“Midnight. Why are you asking this? I am sure she is out riding again or something.”

“What did she say?”

“She—we spoke of—everything that has happened.”

“And?”

Melo sas nothing for a while, and then sighs deeply. “She forgave me. She forgave me for what I did; to her and to others.”

“And?”

“She thanked me. Now why are you asking this?”

But Thorin doesn’t answer him, already returning to his chambers. There, he completely loses control. It starts with him hitting the wall, and then continues with breaking the furniture of the dining room, leaving table and chair legs scattered all over the room. He continues with the sitting room, blinded by hurt and anger, where he kicks in the sofas and tears the pillows.

The servants left the rooms when he started in the dining room, and are now hurrying to Fili and Kili’s rooms.

After the sitting room, he goes to the bedroom, where he breaks the bedposts, ruins the bedding and tears down the curtains. In his study, he throws over his desk, pulls all the books form the shelves and tears the maps from the walls. After a while, the only things left in one piece are Emma’s vanity, her closet and his drawer on which the courting gifts lie.

When Fili and Kili walk in, they find their uncle sitting in the rumble that once was his appartment and crying into his hands. They sit next to him and look at the damage for a while.

“Are you alright, uncle?’

“She’s gone.”

“We know.”

Thorin looks up. “You knew she was going to leave?!”

“We expected it after she heard you asked us to marry Jessa.” Fili softly says.

“She was not happy about it.” Kili adds.

“Where is she now?”

“Rivendel.” Kili answers

“But don’t follow her, not yet.” Fili says.

“Does Elrond knows she is there?”

“No one knows.”

“Do you think—do you think she will come back?”

“Uncle” Fili tentatively says. “You do know that by leaving her courting gifts here and telling you to marry someone else, she has ended your marriage, right?”

“No! She still has her mark; if she wanted to end the marriage, she would have to remove her mark in front of witnesses!” Thorin says agitatedly.

“Be realistic, uncle. You went too far, and she left.”

Thorin gets up. “You will tell no one about this, and send Elrond and his sons and Melo away. She will come back.”

Fili and Kili also get up, looking at their uncle with doubt, but do as he tells them. But when they arrive at the rooms of both Elrond and Melo, they see that everyone is already packing, all of them telling them that they think she went to Rivendell and that they are going there also.

After bidding their goodbyes, Fili and Kili send a cleaning crew to Thorin’s rooms. Thorin tells everyone Emma has gone to her homeland to help with some political matters, and he does not stop the preparations for the four month ball.

However, the next ten days are a hell for everyone around Thorin, especially Balin, as he is trying to help Thorin come up with a solution for his problem with Jessa. And although a solution is found, Thorin loses his temper at the slightest thing, and anger and agression always lie just beneath the surface. When he hits Dwalin over a slight remark, therewith starting a fight with his oldest friend, Fili and Kili decide it is enough and ride to Rivendell, followed by Thorin a few days later, after Dwalin and Balin have started yelling at him and treatened to leave.

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Emma told her handmaidens to pack her new clothes, which are more befitting for Rivendell than her heavy court gowns, when Thorin was speaking with Balin, and now puts on her fur cape and quietly walks out of her rooms with her bag, glancing back at a sleeping Thorin once, and goes to the main entrance, where a guard is waiting for her with a horse. She jumps on and starts riding, wanting to put as much distance between her and Erebor as fast as possible. She rides the rest of the night and the following day, staying at an inn the next night. She continues like this for two days, and then reaches the realm of Rivendell. As she enters, she can’t help but look around in awe, her jaw slightly dropped. But she is disturbed in her admiration by a brown haired elf, asking what her purpose is.

“I am here to visit my appartment.”

“You appartment, my lady?’

“Yes. It was recently gifted to me by lord Elrond.”

“Queen Emma, I presume.”

She bows her head slightly, and gets of her horse.

“Allow me to introduce myself, I am Lindir. Shall I show you to your appartment?”

“Yes, thank you.” Emma says, glancing back at the way she entered Rivendell.

“Are you expecting anyone, my lady?” Lindir asks tentatively.

“No.” She answers firm, but with a hint of sadness in her voice.

She follows Lindir as he leads her throught Rivendell, ignoring the curious looks from other elves, and notices it is a lot warmer here than outside of the valley. Lindir sees her taking her fur cape off.

“We are very lucky to have a warm climate here.”

But her gaze is on her surroundings again, so she does not hear him. Then, he stops is front of what must be Elrond’s palace, as it is the biggest and prettiest building she has seen in Rivendell so far.

“Lord Elrond has gifted you an appartment within the palace, next to Arwen’s, Elladan’s and Elrohir’s. You can leave your horse and baggage here, the servants will take care of it.”

He beckons her to enter the palace and leads her to the front door of her appartment, opening it for her with a key he hands her.

“I will be in the adjoining room, please let me know if you need anything, my lady.”

“Thank you, Lindir.”

He makes a small bow and leaves her. As he closes the door, she feels an overwhelming sensation of loneliness engulfing her, and for a moment she feels like she can’t breath. But she does not give in to it, knowing she has made a decision and has to live with it.

As she looks around, she sees it is quite a spacious appartment, similar to the one she shared with Thorin in Erebor, but decorated quite differently. The walls and drapes are white, and the furniture is made of natural wood. The only exception is a large sofa, made of white linnen, and the bathroom, which is made in white marble. She walks onto the balcony adjoining her bedroom, and sees it looks over the whole of Rivendell. A sight that would normally have taken her breath away, but now only causes her to feel the gaping hole in her chest. Tears start rolling over her cheeks, and she goes back inside and lies on the bed, sobbing into her pillow untill she falls asleep.

She is awoken by a soft knock on the door, and gets up to see who it is.

“My lady, I thought you might want something to eat.”

“Is it that late already?”

“It is ten in the evening, my lady.”

“Right.”

“Lady Arwen has asked me to tell you that she would like to come visit.”

“Oh. Right. Please tell her it will be my pleasure.”

Lindir puts the tray on the table in the dining room and walks out of the appartment, softly closing the door behind him. But mere seconds later, there is a knock, and the door opens again.

“Emma! It is so good to see you!”

“Arwen, it is really good to see you too.”

“But what are you doing here? Not that you are not welcome of course, but why did you come alone?’

Emma sighs and almost starts crying again. “It is complicated.”

“Is—is Thorin not coming?”

Emma shakes her head.

“And father?’

“I don’t know, I have not told him I was coming here, nor anyone else.”

“Did you run away then?’

Thinking of what she has done, Emma actually starts crying, and is unable to stop for a while. Arwen puts an arm around her and leads her to the sofa.

“I had to leave, it was best for him, and Fili and Kili.”

“Tell me the whole story.” Arwen says softly, and Emma does, starting with the trial and ending with Thorin asking his nephews to marry his former consort.

“Oh Emma, I am so sorry for you. But it will be alright. I bet Father, Elladan and Elrohir will be arriving soon, and they will have a solution for everything. Or shall I fetch Galdriel? She is here right now, but I think she is sleeping already.”

“No need, Arwen, I have left and therewith ended my marriage. There is no solution.”

“Come on, let’s get you to bed then, you need some rest and see everything in perspective.”

Emma walks over tot he bedroom, but not before taking her cape. She lies down on the bed and pulls the cape over her, using it as a blanket. She falls into an uneasy slumber, waking several times during the night and not recognizing her surroundings.

The next morning she is awoken by soft murmers coming from the sitting room, and as she gets op, there is a soft knock on the door.

“Yes?”

Elrond opens the door and closes it again as he walks into her bedroom. He sits next to her, looking at her with worry on his face.

“Are you alright, Emma?”

She sighs. “I have no idea.”

“You left Erebor, and Thorin, without telling anyone.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“There were too many problems, too many fights. Everything can be fixed now that I have left.”

“And Thorin?”

“What about Thorin?”

“He is going mad.”

“He is a king, he knows that he has to do some things for the good of his kingdom.”

“We both know the welfare of Erebor has nothing to do with this.”

“The welfare of his family then.”

“And you?”

“What about me?”

“What of you welbeing?”

“I will be fine, i will be out of your way soon.”

“This is not about you being in my way! Don’t you understand that I want nothing more than to keep you here?!” Elrond actually loses his composure now. “But I want you to be happy more, and I know you need Thorin to be happy!”

“I can’t have him, it is all too complicated!” Emma says, desperate but also angry.

“Selde…”

“Why do you suddely call me your daughter?”

Elrond sighs. “Why do you make things so difficult for yourself? Why do you walk away everytime something goes wrong, instead of fighting for what you want?”

“Because I do not want to sit at the breakfast table with the woman that is the mother of my husband’s illegitimate child and that was raped by my brother!”

“You, eeeh, what?” he frowns, trying to understand what Emma means.

“Thorin promised Jessa to find her a nobleman to marry after their affair ended, but as she has his child now, he can not aks any of the Erebor nobles, and he does not want her to move somewhere else. So he has asked Fili and Kili to marry her. Well, not both obviously, but one of them. And that would mean that she becomes part of the royal family and I have no desire whatsoever to see her everyday. So don’t think I left because of some noble self-sacrifice, I left because I had enough of everything!”

“You mean to say that Thorin wanted one of his nephews to marry the woman whoms brothers attacked you?!”

“That is exactly what I mean. So perhaps you could stop acting like I’m some bird that has fallen out of the nest.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry. What do you want to do now?”

“I don’t know.”

“Will you stay here untill you know?”

“If I’m welcome.”

“This is your home now, and you’re with family here. Arwen, Elladan and Elrohir are actually quite excited you are here. Althought that might be a little inappropriate….”

Emma laughs. “Better make the best of it then.”

“And what do I say to Thorin when he comes?”

She looks up at him, a certain sadness in her eyes that she can not hide. “He won’t come.”

“How can you be so sure?’

She thinks for a moment, trying to figure out why she is so sure and how to explain it. “It is a dwarven thing I guess. Once a decision is made, it will not be changed. ‘We are stone’ and so on.”

“But if you are his One…”

“You are putting to much importance to the whole ‘One’ thing. I don’t know what you heard, but you can live without your One, marry someone else, even be happy.”

“Just not as happy as you would have been with your One?”

Emma shrugs her shoulders. “Who knows. Can we talk about something else now?”

“How about lunch?”

“It’s lunchtime already?!”

“A little past it, to be precise. Now get dressed and start your day!”

When he has closed the door behind him, Emma quickly gets up and starts rummaging through her traveling bag, trying to find the dress she wants to wear. When finally locating it, she tries to put it on, but that proves to be more difficult than she had believed it to be without any help. Finally, she manages and sits at the vanity, combing out her hair and putting some make up on. Then, she walks into the sitting room, finding lunch already served there.


	28. Rivendel

“Lindir, how come there are so many people here for an audience? I thought business had been handled by you and Celeborn during my absence.”

Elrond is looking around his hall to see at least thrice as many people waiting to speak to him, both from Rivendel as from other elven realms.

“We have handled all business that was presented to us. I believe the sudden need for audiences with you stems from something completely different.”

Elrond raises an eyebrow. “And what may that be?”

“As you can see, the petitioners are mostly male and have reached the age of marriage, my lord.”

Elrond looks around again and sees Lindir is right. But Arwen had already met most of these men and had shown no interest.

“Emma?”

“Yes. I believe she has caught the eye or curiousity of many.”

“That is a development I had not foreseen.”

“Should I send them away, my lord?”

“No, that would be rude. But please keep an eye on her. I do not think she is used to dealing with male attention by herself. And please inform Elladan and Elrohir of this.”

Lindir bows his head and walks to Elladan and Elrohir’s appartments, explaining the situation to them. Elrond starts the scheduled audiences; he has never gotten so many greetings from other rulers and lords, not has he had so many of his subjects informing after his welbeing.

 

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“Lady Emma, what a pleasure to finally be able to meet you. I have heard many great things about you and would like to introduce myself. I am lord Aden.”

Emma looks up from her conversation with Elladan and Elrohir and sees a platinum blond elf giving her a small bow. She gets up and given the man a small bow.

“Thank you for your kind introduction, lord Aden. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“Will you be staying here long, lady Emma?”

“That is yet to be determinded, lord Aden.” Emma says with a gracious smile.

Lord Aden keeps talking about the topics she has had to talk about many times over the past couple of days, as many have come to introduce themselves. But she does not find it annoying, it distracts her from her own thoughts and helps pass time. When lord Aden finally takes his leave, bowing to Emma once more, Elladan and Elrohir look at her with barely disguised mirth in their eyes.

“What?!” she asks, wondering if they are making fun of her.

“You really don’t notice it, do you?” Elrohir laughs shaking his head.

“Notice what?”

“You know they are all here to find out if there is a possibility to court you, right?”

“Don’t be silly, Elrohir. They are just being polite because I am staying here.”

“Then why did they all come here?”

“I don’t know! How would I know why anyone comes to visit your father?!”

Elladan and Elrohir burst out in laughter. When they finally calm down, Lindir approaches them.

“Emma, there is a visitor her for you. He has introduced himself as your brother Melo.”

A big smile instantly appears on Emma’s face, while Elladan’s and Elrohir’s expressions turn a bit sour. She almost runs to the courtyard, where she jumps in her brother’s arms.

 

**”Namad, I am so happy to see you are alright. You had everyone quite worried when you just disappeared!”**

**”If you did not understand that night that I was leaving, you are more an idiot than I had thought.”**

He laughs, but then his face turns serious again. **”I did not think you would actually do it.”**

**”Will you help me?”**

**”Of course, funds are already coming this way.”**

Emma smiles and kisses his cheek. **”Thank you, nadad.”**

**”Do you really still see me as your nadad? After everything that has happened.”**

**”Family isn’t there for you during the good times only.”**

**”But I have caused some really bad times for you.”** Melo says in a guilt riddled voice.

**”Let us not speak about it anymore. Are you hungry, do you want lunch?”**

**”Lead the way.**

Emma and Melo sit down opposite eachother at the large wooden table in the family room, and she immediately starts eating some bread and salad.

**”Will you go back to him, if he asks you to?”**

She looks up from her plate. **”There is no point in talking about it, as he won’t.”**

**”But if..”**

**”He promised his former consort to arrange a good marriage for her, but as she has his child now, he can only marry her to Fili or Kili, as none of the other nobles will have her with a child. Do you actually think I am going to sit with her at the table for family dinners or something?!”**

Melo’s eyes widen. **”So it really is my fault?!”**

**”It is no one’s fault, stop saying it is yours! I would also not have wanted it if nothing happened between you and her.”**

**”For someone so hard and proud, you have an amazing capability for forgiveness.”**

She smiles a bit. **”Only for you.”**

**”And for Thorin?”** Melo tentatively asks.

**”It does not matter now.”** She aswers shortly, and he knows to let the matter rest.

 

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The following days, Emma gets to know Rivendell and spends time with her new family and Melo. Her brother also notices the attention she is getting, and one evening he speaks to Elladan and Elrohir about it while they sit in the family room by the heart.

“is it me, or are there many males coming to introduce themselves to my sister?”

Elladan looks up from his book. “You forget she is also our sister now.” He answers coolly.

Melo raises and eyebrow, not afraid of the challenge. “Whether she is or nor is besides the point. I informed after Emma’s visitors, not her lineage.”

Elrohir cuts in. “You are not mistaken, many men have come to introduce themselves.”

“To get into Elrond’s good graces or hers?”

“Hers. And his maybe, a bit.”

“And I presume you have kept them at bay?”

Elladan shrugs. “Why would we? She is free to make her own decisions.”

“Because you know very well that Thorin would absolutely not allow this, nor do I.”

“She is not with Thorin anymore, and we have as much to say about her as you, and father even more.”

“She might not be fully married to Thorin anymore, but it would not surprise me if they are back together soon.”

Elrohir sighs. They have already talked about this when Emma was out for a run, and no one believes she is here to stay. She does not want to leave Thorin for good, she merely needs some room to breathe.

“We also think they will, but that does not mean that we wil tell her what to do. Let her live a little, it will be good for her.”

“Or she will be known for being a trollop.” Melo says sarcastically, but he lets the subject rest beyond that, knowing it will actually do his sister well not to be told what to do all the time. And if he is honest, it is quite entertaining to see all those men coming to introduce themselves and his sister being completely oblivious to their intentions. He knows she is not just being coy, she just doesn’t get courting ways, having never really courted.

Although he doesn’t speak of the subject anymore, Melo does send out some ravens about it…..

 

On the tenth day of her stay in Rivendel, after dinner, Arwen comes to her appartment with a mischievous smile on her face.

“Are you ready for some brothers and sisters bonding?”

“That depends on the activity.”

“Going to the woods and drink. A lot.”

Emma smiles and bites her lip. “i don’t know, what if fa—Elrond finds out? He will send me away if I make him look bad.”

“Send you away?! However did you get that thought?! You are his daughter, and I don’t think there are many things that make him happier than having you here! He will never send you away!”

“Alright then, but if we get caught, I will blame you.”

“First family lesson: father has a very, very weak spot for his daughters in his heart, so just blame Elladan and Elrohir and it will turn out fine.”

She laughs, and so does Emma, still snickering when they sneak out of the palace, not noticing that Lindir and Elrond have seen them and know very well what they are up to.

“Please send a guard to follow them from a discrete distance and watch them to make sure nothing happens.” Elrond whispers to Lindir with an indulgant smile on his face.

“Certainly, my lord.”

When Emma and Arwen reach the top of the path, where the woods begin, they see Elladan, Elrohir and Melo already sitting by a small fire, a crate of mead in the grass next to them.

“Sisters, there you are! We were beginning to wonder if you were ever coming.”

“We are here now, so scoot over.”Arwen says, taking two bottles of mead and handing Emma one.

“So this is the elven equivalent of a tavern?’ Emma asks.

“Something like that, only here you will not have to depend on kind strangers to pay the bill.” Elrohir replies with a slight smirk.

Emma laughs, and Arwen looks at them strangely, not having heard the story. They explain, and keep talking all evening and deep into the night, untill they are all completely and utterly drunk.

“Emma?’’ Elrohir starts in blurred speach. “What happened on your quest with Thorin, and why did you ever leave him?”

“What quest?” she says, possibly speaking een more slurred.

“The one with the dragon.”

“O yes, the dragon. What an asshole! But Bard got him, and I got his stone.” She snickers. “Stupid beast.”

“But why did you leave the rest of the company?”

Melo looks up. “You left the company? But how did you get to Erebor then, and fought in the battle?”

“Thanks a lot, Elrohir, it was supposed to be a secret!” Emma gets up.

“Now that you know anyway, dear nadad, I can tell you that I am the unmentioned hero of the battle of the five armies!” She almost falls over, but keeps smiling.

“How?” Melo asks, unable to control his tongue fully, so it sounds more like a howl.

“I stole the stone, sent the dragon to Laketown where Bard could kill him and then saved Fili’s life. O yeah, after that I killed a lot of orcs on a flight of stairs.”

“You did not!” Melo yells.

“I swear on my grave.” Emma says with a bow. “But lets talk about something else, this is such a boring subject. I already had to forbade Fili and Kili from talking about it, don’t make me do the same to you!”

“Then tell us why you left the company, but still went to Erebor?” Elrohir presses, unable to make himself fully comprehensible.

“Because Thorin is an idiot. And I went to Erebor because I promised to get the stone, so I did.”

“If you already knew he was an idiot, why did you marry him anyway?” Arwen laughs, but then sees that both Emma’s and Melo’s faces harden.

“Not a good move, sister.” Elladan blurs out. “Dwarven marriages are arranged quite differently than outs.”

“How?” Arwen squeels out. “What did I say wrong?”

Emma actually has to laugh at her completely drunk sister trying to look innocent. “I was sent to Erebor to chose if I wanted to marry Thorin, Fili or Kili, but then our half-brother came, and told Thorin he could chose.”

“But what if you did not want to marry any of them?”

“She had no choice, alright! She had to marry one of them, as we forced her!” Melo yells out, feeling guilty again.

He jumps up, followed by Emma, who has more trouble standing up straight. “Stop feeling guilty about everything, nadad, it is getting boring.”

Arwen, Elladan and Elrohir look at the two of them, tensely awaiting what will happen. But Melo cups Emma’s face and puts his forehead to hers, whispering something to her. They both smile and sit back down.

“And now another topic, preferably not about me.” Emma says.

“One more question, just one!” Elladan beams.

“Fine.” Emma sighs, and she lies down in the grass.

“Why did you leave Thorin, and would you go back if he came for you?”

The alcohol and memories start pressing on Emma’s chest, and for a moment she says nothing. But then she sits back up again. “I left because it was all getting too complicated, and it was easier to leave.”

“And would you take him back?’ Melo asks softly.

“Perhaps, but we’ll never know.” A tear rolls over her cheek, but she quickly wipes it away, covering her suddenly sad mood with a big smile. “But enough about me, tell me about you.” She says, looking at Arwen, Elladan and Elrohir.

“Perhaps for the best.” Elrohir shrugs, forgetting to leave some pause between his words so it comes out sounding like ‘perhapsforthebest.’

“Huh?’ Melo blurts out.

“Well, Thorin is not exactly the most kind man, and he has not treated Emma very well, so it is perhaps for the best that she has left him.”

“You know nothing about Thorin!” Emma hisses at him. “You have no idea who he is and what he is like!”

Elladan, less influenced by the alcohol than others, smiles mischievously. “Enlighten us, muintelig. What do you see that we don’t?”

“Do you know what Thorin has done for Erebor, for his people? The battle of Azanulbizar? He ignored all his own desires, slaved in the forges of Men, just to sustain his sister and her children and save up enough so he could go on his journey! He rebuilt the whole kingdom after taking it. He has given up more and endured more than any of you will ever understand. And he has been a very considerate husband!”

“Considerate?!” Elladan scoffs, but secretly winking at his brother. “He wants his former consort to be part of the royal family! And he did not care enough to find out what really happened at the trial.”

Melo turns red at this remark, but Emma does not notice it.

“You have no right to judge him!” she hisses again. “You don’t know anything about him, about his courage, his—his---.”

“Goldfever?” Elrohir dryly says.

“That is not to be discussed! Nor is anything else regarding Thorin! I am changing the subject!” Emma exclaims.

They look at her inquisitive for a moment, but then start talking. Another two hours pass, and it is nearly dawn when all the mead is finished and they stumble down the path again. When they enter the palace, they try to be quiet, but Emma and Arwen can’t help giggling. However, they do not notice Lindir and Elrond watching them, so they just presume no one has seen them and both fall into Emma’s bed, Arwen to drunk and tired to even walk to her own room.


	29. Fili, and Kili, at your service

The next day, Elrond is alerted to royal guests arriving by Lindir. He gets up from behind his desk and walks to the courtyard, seeing Fili riding in. When he also enters the courtyard, he jumps of his pony and gives Elrond a small bow.

“Prince Fili, prince Kili, welcome to Erebor.”

“Thank you, but no need to be so formal. I guess you know why we are here?” Fili says.

Elrond shortly closes his eyes and sighs, but then nods his head.

“We need to speak with her. We need to know her—intentions.” Kili says.

“I understand, but I would advice against it right now.”

“You mean you will not allow us to talk to her?!” Astonishment is dripping from Fili’s voice.

“If she will talk to you or not is entirely up to her, I came into her life too late to make such a decision for her. But she is still asleep, and it is unlikely she will wake up anytime soon.”

“Still asleep?! Is she ill?” Kili asks worriedly.

“Not ill exactly, more—lets say tired.”

“I see.” Fili says, not quite understanding what Elrond means but not wanting to admit to that.

“My sons and Melo are already awake and are having breakfast, would you like to join us?”

“Thank you, Elrond.” Fili wants to follow Elrond to have breakfast, but stops abruptly. “Wait, did you just say that you are host to Melo?! I know uncle was forced to because of the signing of the treaty, but you? You know what he has done! How can you let him anywhere near Emma?!”

“Calm down, Kili. You know very well that I can not force Emma to stop meeting her brother.”

Kili scoffs. “You can.”

“I won’t. Now let this subject rest and come have breakfast.”

They walk into the family room together, and they see Elladan, Elrohir and Melo slouching in their chairs, looking rather tired and hungover, and Fili and Kili now understand what lord Elrond meant by ‘tired’.

“Shall I stand by lady Emma’s room and alert you when she wakes up?” Lindir asks Elrond, whom nods and thanks him.

As Elladan, Elrohir and Melo do not seem able to talk just yet, Elrond, Fili and Kili converse while the latter eat a bit, surprised meat is actually served in Rivendell.

 

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An hour later, Emma moans as she wakes up, pressing her hand to her head in an attempt to make the pounding stop. But it is to no avail, so she drags herself to the bathroom and fills the bath with hot water and foam. Five minutes after stepping into the spacious bath, she feels her headache subsiding and falls into a blissfull slumber.

 

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“I believe Emma has woken up, my lord.” Lindir softly says to Elrond after he has heard noises coming from Emma’s appartment.

They all get up and walk to Emma’s rooms. Lindir tells Elrond Emma is in the bath and Arwen is still asleep in the bedroom, and they walk in. Elrond softly knocks on the bathroom door.

“Emma, there are visitors for you.”

“I am not receiving visitors right now, I don’t feel so well.” She answers in a small voice.

“It is quite important, Emma.” Elrond insists.

**”Just send whatever beardless orc offspring that disturbed my peace back to the dung heap it crawled out of and curse upon his troll-like spawn!”** Emma mutters.

Melo turns a little pale, but snickers. **”Oy! Language! Where the hell did you learn those words?!”**

“What is she saying?” Fili whispers.

**”You let me train with your fathers guards and expect me not to learn anything?!”** Emma laughs. **”Who is my visitor anyway?”**

“She uttered her discontent about being disturbed and now wants to know who her visitor is.” Melo hesitantly whipers back to Fili.

“It’s Fili. And Kili” The heirs exclaim loudly. “Will you come out and talk to us?”

They hear a deep sigh and stirring in the water. “Fine, but send a maid to bring me my clothes and do my hair, and be quiet, Arwen is still asleep.” Emma says

Elladan and Elrohir smirk as they see the situation unfolding, but walk out to get maid. They quickly return with one and tell her to quietly go into the bedroom and fetch a dress and then dress Emma. They all sit on the large sofa and wait for Emma to come out of the bathroom. A minute later, Emma also walks out.

“What can I do for you two? And for the love of Mahal, please don’t ask me anything that requires physical exertion!”

“We are merely here to see how our sister is doing.” Kili says with a big smile.

“Just here to see how I am doing? Well, besides from feeling less than optimal at the moment, I am doing just fine.” Emma says with amused sarcasm in her voice.

“That is absolutely great to hear. Say Fili, are you also in dire need for some relaxation?”

“I most certainly am, Kili. Shall we ask lord Elrond if we may request his hospitality once more?”

“Great idea brother.”

The exchange between the two brothers is clearly a play, but Emma can’t help but smile at it. Elrond however looks more stern.

“We have had to install some new rules after you left Rivendel: food is not for throwing and bathing is done in a bath.”

“We are most happy to comply.” Kili says with a beaming smile.

“Then please be our guests.”

Fili and Kili grin, not minding Emma’s more than unhappy facial expression.

“We have news for you, by the way.” They look at Emma seriously now.

She raises her eyebrows as a sign for them to proceed.

“It seems that Thorin has spoken with the dwarven counsel on Durin’s Day after all. Four days ago a message was delivered. You have been taken out of Melo’s father’s line.”

And purses her lips and nods. “And put in which line?”

“Well, it is a bit of an odd situation. They have informed Thorin that they will let him know in which line you will belong in a couple of days, but for now, you are officially lineless.” Fili says.

Emma’s eyes widen in surpise. “Lineless?”

Fili nods. “For a couple of days.”

Hmmm, Emma muses, a couple of days in which I belong ot no one, just myself. Things might be looking brighter. She leaves the room with a small but very satisfied smile on her lips.

 

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Over the next two days, Emma is on guard. Although Fili and Kili are their pleasant selves and do not mention Thorin even once, she knows they are not in Rivendel to simply wind down. What they do want however, is not entirely clear to her yet. A steady stream of elven men keeps coming to introduce themselves to Emma, but Fili and Kili do not say anything about that either, and just watch the polite conversations with a certain amount of amusement.

But to Emma, it is not so amusing anymore. She has grown weary of having the same conversation over and over again. Yes, she likes Rivendel, yes it is nice to stay with elves, yes, elves and dwarves are different, and how are you mylord? Where do you reside, my lord? The same questions and answers again and again. So after two weeks of staying in RIvendel, she decides to sneak away from all the attention. She makes her way up to a patch of grass situated on the slopes of Rivendel, overlooking the whole valley. As in the Rest of Rivendel, it is warm and sunny there and she has brought a book to keep herself entertained. She sits down on the grass and takes her woolen tunic and leather pants off, leaving only her shift on to cover her. She enjoys the warmth of the sun on her skin, and for an hour or so, she just slumbers a bit.

But she is awoken by a shadow falling over her. She holds her hand over her eyes and squints at the person that is blocking the warm embrace of the sun from her.

“King Thranduil! Eeeerm-I-eeeerm- how great to see you again.” She stumbles over her words in her hurry to cover herself with her tunic.

He smirks. “And you, queen Emma. Or do you carry another title now?”

“For another two or three days, I carry no title at all, king Thranduil, so you can adress me as just Emma.”

“I did not know one could shed or lose titles so easily. Perhaps I should be more carefull with mine,”

“I think you are not so much at risk of losing it, but more of wearing it out.” She says mildly sarcastically.

He smiles at her, surprised by her retort. “I would not want to risk that, so perhaps you could adress me as just Thranduil.”

“I shall, Thranduil. Now what brings you here? I highly doubt you have come to enjoy the sun.”

“No, I just had to come see the woman so many are speaking about.”

Emma crooks an eyebrow.

He nods with a hint of a smug smile on his lips. “A new elven princess in the age of marrying. Elrond has already told me many men have come to introduce themselves, perhaps even make their interest in courting you known.”

“Elrond overreacts. They just came to introduce themselves. I would introduce myself to relatives and friends of the lord if I visited a kingdom.”

“How naive, and---innocent of you.”

“So have you come to laugh at me or did you perhaps also bring something to drink?”

“Would both be alright?”

She squints her eyes, and takes the bottle he is offering her. She is surpised they are able to talk so easily. She may have found him enigmatic before, but that did not meant he did not act arrogant towards her. But now he is almost acting as a---a friend or something.

When she stops thinking about it, she notices him observing her. “Was there something specific you wanted to talk about, Thranduil?”

“Not really, I just had to see if the rumours were true.”

“Which rumours?”

“That the king under te mountain has been left by his wife, the illegitimate child of lord Elrond and his consort.”

“You make it sound like a scandal!”

“O but it is! First we have lord Elrond seducing a married woman and impregnating her, then an arranged marriage, and then a divorce and a midnight escape to Rivendel. It is very scandalous, especially since you are sitting here, barely dressed, and do not have a male relative right now to watch over you.”

“How do you know about that?!”

He shrugs. “I have my ways.”

They sit silently fo a while, both of them lost in their own thoughts.

“I find you very intrigueing, Emma.”

“Really? How so? If I recall correctly, you are not the biggest fan of the dwarven race.”

“But you are so much more than a food-throwing, ancestor-insulting dwarf. You seem to rise above them somehow. And I find it difficult to read you, know what you feel.”

“Now I am certain you want something from me! Or are you just here so you can laugh at Thorin later?” She speaks the words in an inquisitive tone, not meant to offend, but to see his reaction.

He smiles indulgently. “I merely wished to seize the opportunity to speak with you without being stared at by at least three of your relatives.”

“And what is it you wish to speak about?”

“You. And what we can do for eachother.”

“Such as?”

“I know you have some sort of a plan for the future, and I know it does not entail you giving birth to a small army of Thorin’s heirs and sitting at home.”

She purses her lips. “I realy need to find out where you get your information.”

“Tell me, is it power you crave?”

Somehow she does not mind his intrusive questions. She would have hit anyone else asking such personal things on the nose, but coming from him, she doesn’t really mind. She has to admit she finds him evenly intrigueing.

“Not power as such, but freedom.”

“Freedom?”

“As you said, I always have some male relative around telling me what to do. I want to live without anyone being able to tell me what to do.”

“And power will give you that?”

She nods slowly. “It would.”

“And does Thorin play a role in this future?”

“I think that is between him and me. I know you don’t like eachother, and I will not give you something to taunt him with later.”

The have both been drinking their fair share of the wine that Thranduil has brought, and the conversation starts to become more personal. Boundaries that would have been respected in any other situation, seem to disappear now.

“I loved Legolas’ mother fiercely, and I know I will never love like that again. I see a similar love between you and Thorin, so I wonder why it is that you are now here, and not with him.”

“Wonder all you like.”

“I do not mean to pry information from you to use against him. I have merely seen that what exists between you, is real. And such a thing is not found often.”

Emma nods, but says nothing.

“Are you looking for someone to court you?”

Emma loughs outloud and shakes her head adamantly. “No I am not looking for someone to court me.”

“Many of Elrond’s visitors will be disappointed.”

“What a shame.” She mocks.

“Then why are you here?”

She is lying on her back the grass while leaning on her elbows while he lies flatly on his back, his platinum hair splayed out around his head. He had taken of his crown five minutes after he sat down next to her, so his head is bare.

“Promiss me you will not tell anyone!”

“I swear it upon my honor and my throne.”

She sighs. “I just wanted to get away from all the problems and expectations and see another life. Just be me for a while.”

“So you will go back?”

“That would require Thorin asking me to come back, and he will not do that in this lifetime or the next.”

“You can not tell me he does not love you!”

“Love has nothing to do with it. Politics, pride, image. Those things have everything to do with it.”

“So you wish to remain by yourself for the rest of your life?”

“By myself? No, I do not think I want to marry again, but that does not mean I have to be alone.”

She looks at him again. Although he is quite different from Thorin, as different as the sun and the moon are, she finds herself liking his appearance. He is lean and gracious, but muscled nonetheless. And she has to admit his hair is quite to her liking. She wishes to touch it, feel if it is as soft as it looks. She parts her lips a little bit, looking at his face, and she feels a familiar tingle run down her spine. When his gaze meets hers, she sees he is also staring at her, subtely reacting to her.

“You could not be alone right now.”

“Only right now?”

“Yes.”

“And without anyone knowing?”

“From down there, no one sees you. Or me. Or _us_.”

“And what would happen afterwards?”

“We will be king Thranduil and queen Emma again. Two neighbouring rulers that may occasionally meet at treaty meetings and such, but not really know eachother.”

“If it were to come out….”

“Then we are both in trouble with Thorin and I would have Elrond to answer to.”

She bites her lower lip and tries to make a decision. She instrinctively knows he does not want her because she is, or was, Thorin’s, but just to meet a primal need. A need she also feels growing inside of her. The thought of Thorin crosses her mind briefly, but she pushes it away. After all, he has also slept with others in the time they had been married.


	30. Oh oh

And then, she leans down and kisses him. Softly at first, but then passion takes over. He pushes his upper body up and guides her to lie on her back. He sits on his knees between her legs and takes his relatively simple shirt off in one smooth movement. She marvels at his chisseled, hairless chest and his platinum hair falling over it, feeling herself becoming more and more aroused.

Thranduil leans down a bit and slowly pushes her tunic over her head and her shift down over her shoulders and arms. She knows she is supposed to step out of it, but she prefers it to remain exactly where it is. Thranduil runs his slender fingers along the lines of her underwear, watching her intently. His playfull ministrations with which he teases her, touching her so close to where she wants to be touched, drives her mad, and she pulls him into a lustfull kiss, running her hands through his wondefully soft hair. He leans on one elbow and lifts his lower body, tugging at the laces of his legging and impatiently wriggling his legs to take the piece of clothing off. He does the same with her bra and thong, and then there are no more barriers between them besides the shift that is pooled around her waist. With his free hand, he starts kneeding her breast, tugging softly at her nipple. He pulls away from her kiss and lowers his head, taking her erect nipple into his mouth, suckling and nibbling at it. She arches back, his tongue and teeth sending shivers through her body. He takes his weight off his other arm, leaning on his knees, and starts to move down his hand to her sex. When he reaches it and runs his finger along her slit, she moans loudly.

“You are already so wet for me, Emma.” He groans.

And when he rubs her clit with two fingers, he starts to trace along his erect member with his other hand. She sits up and looks at him for a split second. Then, she replaces his hand with her own, feeling his hardness, his lust. A small rumble erupts from deep within his chest when she runs her thumb over the slit on his engorged head and he looks at her like a feral animal would at its prey. He pushes her on her back again and starts licking around her clit, pushing her legs open as far as he can with his hand on her thighs, displaying her in front of him. When he hears her breathing intensify, he starts drawing circles around her clit with his tongue faster and stronger, and when he laps over the small pearly button, she is pushed over the edge, moaning loudly and grabbing his hair. He runs his tongue over her clit softly, letting her ride out her orgasm. Then, he sits up again.

“Now turn around and sit on your knees for me.” He says with a voice thick with lust.

She does as he says and turns her back to him, sitting on her knees with her upper body erect. He comes to sit behind her in the same position. Due to the slope of the hill, their hips are at an equal level. He spreads her legs a little bit further and then places the head of his throbbing member at her entrance.

“By the valar, Emma, please tell me you will take me!”

“Yes!” she pants, unpatient for him to enter her.

He starts to push slowly, and she feels his head entering her. He pushes further, and before long she feels herself being completely filled up by the elven king. The position allows him not only to cause friction at her inner sensitive spot, but also to play with her breasts and her clit and kiss her neck. She throws her head back, leaning against his shoulder and runs her hands through his hair again. His hips move slowly but deliberately, and with every thrust she feels him hitting her spot, making her moan, gasp and whimper. He feels her arousal, her readiness and willingness, and starts to move faster. She meets his movement with her hips everytime he pulls out and pushes in.

“Yes, Thranduil, faster!” She moans.

He complies immediately and starts pounding into her, almost making her scream out in ecstacy, untill she can hold back no longer and comes with fierce intensity.

She contractions of her muscles have caused extra friction, and before long he starts panting and groaning, grabbing her breasts and pulling her closer to him.

“Oh, Emma!” he utters, and he pushes her down a little bit, making her sit on hands and knees. He grabs on to her hips and slams into her a couple more times untill he comes undone with a loud grunts and falls over her back. His hips jerk a bit when he enjoys the orgasm flowing over him, and he softly sucks her earlobe. After a few moments, he rolls off her and lies on his back, as does she.

“That was---that was amazing!” he pants.

She smiles but does not say anything. The silence linger for a couple of minutes.

“Do you regret it, Emma?”

“Regret? Not at all. But it does have to remain a secret.”

He smiles smugly. “it will be the best hidden secret in all of Middle Earth. But I can not promiss I will not think back on this when I sit across the table from you in some boring treaty meeting or something.”

She laughs. “Then we have managed to make those meetings a whole lot more interesting.”

“You get dressed and leave first, I will follow in half an hour or so.”

“And for an explanation?”

“I tried to get you to talk about Thorin, and you refused. I will be vague about it.”

She smiles and puts her clothes back on. After one last glance, she starts her descend back to Elrond’s palace.


	31. Thorin

That night, Emma, her brothers and sister and Fili and Kili go drinking again. Elladan has chosen the spot where she and Thranduil sat earlier that afternoon as ther drinking spot. After initially suspecting he knows something , Emma relaxes and sits and drinks with the rest of them. Not a single insinuation is made, so she is confident no one knows anything. After a while, Fili looks at Emma.

“Emma, what would you do if uncle were to come here?”

She had been staring into the fire, thinking about what happened that afternoon and about Thorin.

“Hmm, what?”

“What would you do if Thorin were to come here?”

“Eeeeerm, why?”

“No reason. What would you do?”

Emma does not want to play this game; not not, not ever. And certainly not with them.

“I would ask my brother what to do.”

Before Fili can reply, Melo interjects.

**”You love him, don’t you?”** He laughs in surprise, intendly stared at by the others whom have no idea what he is saying. **”You love your husband, admit it!”**

**”Stop being childish, Melo!”** Emma says with an appearant blush on her cheeks.

**”But if you love him, why did you leave?”**

**”What do you think?! Do you actually think I am going to be second rate again?! Sitting at the table with that whore of him, making small talk about things we have both experienced with Thorin?! Or perhaps I should just invite her to share our bedroom?!”**

**”She will probably appreciate that, she wasn’t nearly as hesistant as she claimed during the trial.**

**”Melo!”**

He shrugs. **”It’s true. So start thinking of yourself and get that little trollop out of the way before she somehow wriggles her way back into Thorin’s good graces and her son into the line of succession.”**

**”You assume I want him back.”** she says coolly.

He smirks.**”Come on, namad, you and I both know it, you just have to admit it: you love him.”**

**”I don’t have to admit to anything, it is all water under the bridge.”** she answers indignantly.

Kili, still less patient than his brother and certainly less than the elves, cuts in: “So what would you do, Emma?”

“As I said: I would ask my brother.”

“I thought you just did!”

“Nah, that was just about the weather here in Rivendel.” She gives him a big, bright smile.

The evening goes well after that, and turns into the night and early morning. Just before the sun starts to come up, everyone is rather intoxicated and they start the descend Emma made earlier that day.

She and Arwen fall asleep in Emma’bed again, and all seems to be going just as it did last time.

 

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Elrond looks up when Lindir enters his study and announces that king Thorin, king under the mountain, has arrived. Elrond does not know in what mood Thorin is, or what his intentions are. But he knows that he has seen Emma become a hollow shell over the last two weeks. He had known she would leave again the second he saw her here in Rivendel, but he knows that, although she seems the same outwardly, she is hurting on the inside. So he walks out of his study and onto the courtyard with a polite smile.

“Thorin, how good to see you. What may I do for you?”

Thorin gets off his horse and greets Elrond with a small nod of his head. “May we speak privately?”

Thorin’s voice gives very little away about his intentions, so Elrond nods and invites him to follow him to his study. He offers him a chair and some refreshments, which have already been brought by Lindir, but to his surprise, Thorin refuses all food and drinks.

“It has been brought to my attention that many have come to introduce themselves to Emma, and perhaps take the first steps towards courting her.”

“Many have come, yes.” Elrond carefully says, still not knowing what to expect as Thorin remaisn emotionless.

“I would like your permission on asking her to court me.”

“My permission for…eeerm…what? I believe I have nothing to say about that, and that you are already married to her.”

“She has left, and even though I believe she has not yet removed her mark, it means we are not really married at the moment. And with regard to your approval: I have thought long about who would be her nearest male relative. It has not yet been decided in whch line she will be written, but as it is almost common knowledge now that you are her father, this seems the most logical thing to do.”

“And you wish to court her?”

“Yes.”

“Even though she left you?”

“I believe the circumstances forced her to; circumstances I created. I would like the chance to make it up to her.”

“Right. I believe dwarves discuss these sort of matters also with the brothers and cousins of the woman?”

Thorin nods hesitantly. He is not especially looking forward to speaking about his feelings for Emma in front of everyone, but he will do anything to get her back. The last two weeks have been pure hell for him. He tried to distract himself with other things, or other women, but to no avail. His chest felt as if it were completely empty, and he knows it can only be filled by Emma.

Elrond gets up and beckons Thorin to follow him to the family room. There, they find Elladan, Elrohir, Melo, Fili and Kili slouching in their chairs, a similar view Fili and Kili had when they arrived in Rivendel, looking rather groggy.

“Where are your sisters?” Elrond asks Elladan.

“Still sleeping.” His heir grunts.

Elrond looks at Lindir, who mimicks ‘In the bath’ at him. Elrond bows his head in thanks and turns back to the men at the table.

“So, king Thorin has come here to ask out permission to court your sister.”

“That took a lot longer than expected.” Elrohir sighs, and he throws a small purse filled with coin to Melo, whom nearly misses it and turns a bit pale at the sudden movement he has to make to catch it.

Melo lifts himself from his chair with visible effort. “Come on, lets go see her.” He says, and he leads everyone to Emma’s appartment.

Elrond prepares a cup of tea with a lot of sugar for Emma and brings it with him, placing it on the table next to the sofa everyone in now sitting on. But as he does, several hands reach for the cup, also in dire need of a hangover cure. He sighs and asks Lindir, whom has followed them, to bring a pot of tea. In the meantime, Melo has walked to the bathroom door.

**”Namad, I need you to come out and speak to me.”**

**”Not now, nadad. Leave me in peace for a while and I will do as you ask later.”**

**”Come out now and I will do as _you_ ask.”** He says with a smile on his face.

In truth, Emma was already feeling like she needed to get out of the bath. Lying there idly had only made her think about what she had done with Thranduil the afternoon before, and she was starting to feel a little guilty. To avoid that annoyingly nagging feeling, she decided it would be better to go and do something. And now Melo has given her the perfect excuse. She slowly lifts herself from the bath, carefull not to move her head too much to avoid dizzyness, and dries herself of and gets dressed.

Just as Lindir puts a tray with tea and sweets down, the bathroomdoor opens and Emma walks out, barefoot and still drying her hair with a towel.

All the men look at her, understanding she has not yet seen Thorin or any of them due to her drying her wet hair the towel and her hair hanging in front of her eyes, and they anxiously await the moment she does.

“I, eeeh…”Thorin starts, and Emma’s head jerks up, swinging her hair back and dropping the towel on the floor.

She looks angry, but also afraid, tensed and a bit taken back, her eyes dark and squinted a bit when she looks at him, but then she composes herself. “What are you doing here, Thorin?’ she says emotionless.

Elrond gets up. “Thorin has come to ask my permission to ask you if you want to court him.”

Emma frowns, looking utterly confused, and then reaches out and takes a cup of tea, putting in a rather large amount of sugar.

“Court me?” She finally says after taking a sip of tea, her elegant fingers wrapped around the cup and her legs pulled under her.

“Yes, court you. Are you willing to listen to his proposal?” Elrond tentatively asks.

The tension in the room is palpable as everyone is waiting, and hoping, for Emma to agree to listening to Thorin. But the mood is harshly broken when the bedroomdoor is swung ajar rather forcefully and Arwen walks out, still in her clothes from last night, her hair all tangled up.

She looks around the sitting room, seeing everyone sitting there,and frowns.

~”Ada, what is everyone doing here?”~ she mumbles, trying to smooth down her hair with her hands.

Elrond can’t help but smile at his oldest daughter. ~” They are here for your sister, selde. Why don’t you go and freshen up and then ask for Galadriel to come, I am sure her advice will be welcomed.”~

Arwen moans at the thought of having to walk all across Rivendell and fetch her visiting grandmother, so Elladan and Elrohir get up. ~” Go sleep some more, sister, we will get her.”~

Arwen smiles at them thankfully and goes back to her own appartment, falling on the bed.

In the meantime, Emma looks reproachfully at Melo. **”Traitor! You could have warned me!”** She whispers.

**”Would you have come out of the bathroom if I told you who was here?”** he says with a little smirk.

She just frowns and takes another sip of her tea, listening in to Elrond, Arwen, Elladan and Elrohir talk and trying to ignore the looks of Thorin, Fili and Kili. But then Arwen, Elladan and Elrohir leave, and Elrond turns his attention back to her.

“We will leave you and Thorin to talk, we’ll be in the family room.”

Everyone but Emma and Thorin get up and leaves the appartment, leaving Emma to feel rather uncomfortable. She looks at her hands and fidgets with her dress a bit.

“I—we—you know how I feel about you, and you know it will never change. But I also know that I have failed you, not considered you enough, and I want to change that. I have heard that many potential suitors have already come to visit you, and I would like to put my name up for consideration. Please allow me to court you, make it up to you.”

She does not say anything for a while, but then looks up to him. “To what end, Thorin? You just want me to come back so that everyone knows you got your wife back, and nothing will change.”

He turns a bit red. “Almost no one knows you have left me, I told them you had to do something for your brother.” He admits.

“So you just expected me to come back?! Expected me to return before anyone found out I left you.”She says angrily, annoyed that he is so sure that she will go back with him.

“No, I did not want anyone to know my shame, and I just hoped you would come back.” Thorin says pleadingly.

“I have been last on your priority list the whole time! Everything and everyone is more important to you than me, just like my life before we married, only you sugarcoat it with a thin layer of so called love. Do you actually think I am going to go back with you and be degraded for the rest of my life, sitting with your ex-consort and your illigitimate son at the table, mingling with them at parties and people wondering if your consort is actually married to one of your nephews or of that is just a cover for your relationship to her?!”

“I arranged a marriage between her and the illigitimate son of Dain. She will live in Erebor, and also attend royal gatherings as her husband will be a nobleman, but you will not see her often. And I swear on my beard that things will be better between us! I will take better care of you, I promiss!”

“I don’t need someone to take care of me, I can take care of myself. I need—I…” Emma rambles

Thorin gets up and sits on his knees before her now, taking her free hand in his’. “Love.” He whispers. “You need love.”

A tear rolls over her cheek, and he softly wipes it away with his thumb, cupping her jaw. “Let me court you properly, let us become friends again before we become lovers.”

She looks at him. “We were married, Thorin, why would you court me again, you already did it once?”

“We could still be married, unless you took the mark away. And our courting period did not bring you the happiness and joy you deserve, so I want to do it again, to give you the real feeling of a bride to be.”

Unconsciously, her hand goes to her neck.

“Did you take the mark away?” he whispers.

She shakes her head, gazing down.

“Will you give me another chance then?”

“I don’t know, Thorin.”

“Say you’ll court me; you can change your mind at any time.”

“Thorin, if I were to consider going back to Erebor with you, I would not court first. It is proposterous to court if we’re already married.”

“Then let us spend some time here, together, get to know eachother again. I will stay in the guest rooms.”

“You are aware that everyone will meddle, right?”

“I know, and your three brothers and your father and my nephews all see themselves as your protectors, but I am not so easily kept away from you, azyungal.” He says the last word carefully, trying to see how Emma reacts to it.

When a fainth smile appears on her face, het gets up and sits next to her. He runs his hands through her hair. “May I braid it for you?”

“You have never braided my hair.”

“Because you never have braids in it.”

“I prefer it lose.”

“Then I shall not braid it. But I brought you something.” He takes a small pouch out of one of his pockets and opens it, pouring some diamonds into his hand. “There are small holes in them, so you can put them into your hair should you wish.”

She looks at the shiny stones in his hand, and then at his face. Her look is doubtfull, as she is trying to decide what to do. She knows that if she accepts the gift she also accepts his attempts to get her back. But then she nods, and takes a small strand of hair from the top of her head, separating it from the rest of her hair. He smiles and puts the diamonds in her hand. His fingers take the strand, and he starts braiding, taking the diamonds one by one from her upheld hand. When he is done, she has a small strand of shiny stones in her hair, attached to a braid like the ones he has to the sides of his head, which sparkle everytime her hair moves. He takes her hand and pushes a chaste kiss on her knuckles.

The intimate moment is broken when there is a soft knock on the door. Emma looks up and tells the visitor to enter. When the door opens, she sees it is Galadriel. The blond elf smiles as she sees the gems in Emma’s hair.

“i see you have accepted.”

“No, I haven’t. Only idiots court when they are already married.”

Galadriel can’t help but laugh at the straight-forwardness of the child of her daughter’s husband.

“It must be your dwarven side saying that, any elf would love the chance to court again and relive the romance.”

She pauses for a moment, looking at Emma and Thorin. “But I am not here to speak of romance or courting.”

“Then why are you here?” Emma bluntly asks, still strongly disliking the blonde elven lady.

“I have known you will go back to Erebor from the moment you arrived, and so have Elrond, Arwen, Elladan and Elrohir. But that does not mean that your departure will not be hard on especially Elrond. And stretching it out by staying here longer will only make it more painfull for him.”

“So you are basically asking me to leave?”

“No. I am asking you to invite your ada and your brothers and sister to come visit you for a prolongued period of time in Erebor.”

“And Rivendell? He will not want to leave.”

“I will take care of Rivendell for a while, as I know he will want nothing more than to come with you.”

Emma looks at Thorin, who smiles at her. “It would be a delight to have your family with us.” He says.

“Then your visit to Rivendel will be a short one.” She answers. “I will get a maid to pack my belongings. Will you inform everyone?” she asks Galadriel.

“They are already waiting for your in the courtyard.” Galadriel smiles.

“They did not even know what I was going to say!” Emma protests.

\--Love like yours and Thorin’s does not end, nor can it be hidden. Your answer was clear to everyone but yourself even before they agreed to Thorin courting you.—Galadriel says in her head.

Emma frowns in annoyance over Galadriel entering her head again and gets up, walking to the door to find a maid, but as she does, one already enters the room and bows to Emma. “I will pack you belongings, my lady.” She says, and she quickly walks to the bedroom.

The packing does not take long, as Emma has only brought clothes. Thorin enters the bedroom when everything is packed, getting Emma’s luggage for her. When he looks at the bed, he sees the fur cape he gave her lying on the bed, and smiles. She has not used the fine linnens as blankets, but the cape he gave her. He picks it up and also carries it to the courtyard, all gathered smiling at him and Emma. Melo steps forward and gives Emma a hug, putting their foreheads together.

**”You know I will support you, no matter what you do, right?”**

**”I do, nadad, thank you. Will you come to visit me soon?”**

**”I am in luck, as father proves not quite ready to really give over the reign, so I have ample time.”**

**”Then why are you not coming now?”**

**”Because you and Thorin need time to be together, uninfluenced by his anger me.”**

**”In a week then?”**

**”A week it is, namad.”**

He helps her onto her horse and watches as the group rides off.

The journey back to Erebor goes smoothly, but Thorin notices Emma is still a bit distant towards him, so he gets them separate rooms at the inns they stay at. While they ride during the day, Arwen can’t help herself in trying to satisfy her curiousity by asking Thorin all about dwarven culture.

“So you have your own language?”

“Yes, like the elves also have.”

“But it is kept a secret, only known to dwarves?”

“Mostly, yes.”

“But Emma and Melo also speak another language?”

“Yes, that is a language specific to their kingdom, so dwarves of other kingdoms don’t even know it.”

“Not even you?”

“No, not even me.”

“And why do dwarfs press their foreheads together?”

“Why do you ask all these questions, Arwen?”

She gives him a big smile. “Because I want to know all about the culture I am going to live in. But if it is a secret or something, you don’t have to tell.”

He hesitates a bit before answering. “It is not a secret, not really. Dwarves press their foreheads together as a sign of affection, but also to give strength in times of physical or emotional pain.”

“So Melo put his forehead to Emma’s when they said goodbye as a sign that he loves her?”

“I do not know, as I do not know what they said. The intention is only known to them.”

“Do you think Emma will teach me her language?”

Thorin laughs outloud. “There is more chance of me getting pointed ears than Emma or Melo teaching you their language. Not only do dwarves not share the knowledge of our language, but for Emma and Melo it is also a means of communicating amongst others without their words being understood by anyone else. I have no idea how Galadriel knows their language, but I do know they find it highly annoying!”

“Does that not bother you, you not understanding them?”

“It can be frustrating, but it is understandable. But she also speaks Sindarin, and I don’t understand that either.”

Arwen falls silence for a bit, thinking of the secrecy of dwarves, but then continues her questions.

“Can I ask you about dwarven marriage customs?”

“Yes?”

“You see, my brothers told me that the marriage between you an Emma was arranged, and that is not uncommon among royal dwarfs.”

“What of it?”

“I’m just not used to it. Elves only marry for love, as a marriage usually lasts forever.”

“I see.”

“I’sorry, I don’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”

“I assure you that much more is needed to make me feel uncomfortable.”

Arwen hesitates, but can not stop herself from asking the next question.

“So is it common, that a married dwarven couple breaks up, like you and Emma?”

“It is not common, but also not entirely unheard of. A woman has the right to leave her husband if they do not have children yet. Though I would appreciate it if you kept this information to yourself, as almost no one in Erebor knows that Emma left me. I told everyone that she had to go help her brother with something.”

“Naturally I shall, and I will tell my father and my brothers to do the same. But does a man not have the right to leave his wife?”

“He has, but he needs a valid reason for it, and then only of no children are born in the marriage yet.”

“And which reasons could be valid?”

“Adultery, the unability to have children, deceit, things like that.”

“But a woman does not need those reasons?”

“Decency would require she has a reason, but by law it is not required.”

“Hmm, my father always made it seem that dwarven women have much fewer rights that elven women, and are seen as property, but from what you say it seems that dwarven women have more rights that their men counterparts.”

Thorin grins. “I am afraid that I have to admit that your father is right. The divorce laws function as a sort ofcounterbalance.”

“How so then? Women can divorce without reason, but men can not!”

“That is only a very small part of our law, and not often used.”

“What is the other part then?”

“You have to make a distinction between law and practice, but by law, women have very few rights and are in fact the property of their nearest living male relative. In practice however, we adore our women, as there are so few, and will not make decisions the woman does not agree with.”

He sees Arwen frown deeply, a bit affronted by what he told her, as it clashes with her own culture and morals.

“But then, why did you not just force Emma to go back to Erebor, but instead come to Rivendel?”

“Because she has the right to leave me. Melo or her father could have sent her back, as they are her nearest male relatives if we divorce. But as I said: there is a difference between law and practice, and I do not want a wife that has been forced to come back to me.”

“I am quite confused. You make it sound like dwarven women are docile creatures, ordered around by males and depending on their biddings. But from what I have seen, it is nothing like it.”

Thorin laughs outloud again. “Again: there is a difference between law and practice. In reality, we revere our women, and see it as our highest duty to protect them and care for their happiness. And our right to tell them what to do, also makes that we are responsible for all possible outcomes of a situation.”

“What do you mean?”

Thorin hesitates for a moment, as he is not sure if he wants to share this with her, but as he also has come become very fond of his siter in law, he does. “For example: when your father just came to Erebor, Emma did not want to see him or speak to him. But I forced her to attend a treaty meeting in which someone upset her, so her being upset was my responsability.”

“Why did you force her? Did you really want her to get to know her elven father?”

“No, it had to do with politics. That your father was there was a coincidence.” Thorin admits.

“And now? Do you and her like having us in Erebor?”

“I believe Emma has come to terms with having a whole new family, and is quite pleased with all of you coming.”

“And you?”

“I have yet to see how everything works out.”

They keep talking throughout the afternoon, observed by Elrond, whom is pleasantly surprised by the dwarf king taking a liking to Arwen.

 

Late at night on the third day, they arrive at their destination. Servants show Elrond, Arwen, Elladan and Elrohir to their wing, while Thorin takes Emma’s hand and leads her to their rooms. When they enter, she looks around, and her mouth falls open.

“What happened here?’ she asks

“I eeh, I thought it needed redecorating.”

“With old furniture?’

“I got a new bed.”

“Right. And the rest is supposed to be a mismatched mess?”

“I broke verything when I found out you left. And I didn’t know if you would perhaps like to decorate the rooms to you taste, so I just had some furniture from unused rooms brought in here for the time being.” He admits. But before she can say anything, he stands in front of her and pulls her close to him. She looks in his eyes, and then he picks her up and carries her to the bedroom. There, he softly puts her down and starts taking her dress off, but leaving her slipdress on. He picks her up again and lies her on the bed, himself lying next to her. He buries his face in her hair and sighs contently. He pulls her closer to him, his arms around her waist, her hands on his, and they fall asleep like that.

The next morning he wakes her up with a soft kiss to her forehead, and when she slowly opens her eyes, he sees small sparkles in them.

“Goodmorning.” She says softly while stretching in an attempt to wake up.

“Would you like to join me for breakfast in the dining hall? You know, to show everyone that you’re back.” He asks after having layed there for a while, enjoying the sight of having her in his bed again.

“Only of you help me get dressed. If I have to explain everything to my maidens, we won’t even be in time for dinner.”

He smiles and nods, and after she has washed, she takes a dark blue gown out of her closet and steps into it. Looking back at Thorin when he closes the zipper. When she does her hair and make-up, having become much better at it during her time in Rivendell, where she did not have handmaidens, he also gets dressed in a matching tunic and leather trousers.

Together they walk to the dining room, but as they enter, Thorin is stopped by Balin who has some small state business to discuss. Emma walks over to her chair, but to her surprise she sees that a man is already sitting in it, unhindrerd by the fact that it is her rightfull place and it is quite impudent of him to take one of the two royal seats at the head of the table. He is talking to some other man she also does not know, sitting to his left; the side of the table normally reserved for Emma’s relatives or friends.

She walks over to the talking duo and crooks her eyebrow.

“And who may you be?” she says in an arrogant tone, annoyed that the man didn’t even have the decency to leave the seat when she walked in.

Her question has attracted the attention of the other people eating breakfast, and all eyes are now on Emma and the man.

“Excuse me?” he says indinantly. “I think the more pressing question is who you are, disturbing me while I eat breakfast!”

A collective gasp goes through the hall, and from the entrance, Thorin sees what is happening, and he walks over, though not fast enough.

“If you wish to continue eating your breakfast, I suggest you take a seat over there!” Emma says, pointing at a seat at the very end of the table, trying to control her anger.

“Over there?!” The man scuffs. “I don’t think you know your place, girl. Go back to the servant’s quarters and have your lady explain to you who sits where at the table. I am sure she can enlighten you on the seating arrangements for handmaidens!”

Before Emma can reply, Thorin comes to stand next to her and puts his hand on her waist. “Durer. The seating arrangement are as such that the king and queen sit at the head of the table, and the king’s guests sit at his right while the queen’s guests sit at her left. You are neither the queen nor one of her guests, so sit at the place my wife appointed for you and shut up!” he says in a very angry tone.

The man turns pale within a second, realising whom he was so rude to and almost runs to the other seat, forgetting his breakfast. Emma takes her seat and pushes the man’s plate away.

“What a lovely welcome.” She whispers to Thorin. “Who was that?”

“Ahum, eeh, that was Jessa’s betrothed, Durer.” He says while turning a bit red.

“I see that you have indeed managed to keep the embarrasing encounters to a minimum.” She replies sarcastically.

“I am so sorry, I….”

“Never mind.” She interjects. “Just have someone teach him court etiquette and it will al be fine.”

“Thank you, I will.”

For a while they eat in silence, but then Thorin look at her. “I noticed that you didn’t do your usual training this morning.”

“I do not yet feel quite ready to start running or boxing yet, but perhaps I will do some sword practice later.”

“Would you feel better if I send some guards with you to go running?’ he asks tentatively.

“Beside the fact that I do not think you will be able to find someone that can keep up with me, it would not make me feel better, as I just do not have the strength for it yet.”

“Shall I send the healer to our rooms later?”

“i will visit him after breakfast, no need to send him to our rooms.”

“I will go with you, and after we can perhaps train together?”

“That will be nice.” She says with a genuine smile.

As they woke up quite late, there are very few people that speak to them during breakfast, everyone they know already having started their duties and the lower nobles and commoners not knowing how to adress them or what to say, so they can leave when they have finished eating. They walk to the healing wing, where Emma is brought to a room by the head healer.

“How are you feeling, your highness?” he asks her when she lies on the bed.

“Well, but not well enough to do my usual training.”

“That is to be expected, as muscles need more time to heal, and the muscles that were affected are the muscles one would normally use during physical training. May I take a look at the scar?”

Emma gets up from the bed and looks at her dress, trying to decide if it would be better to lift the skirt or pull the dress down. She chooses the latter and asks Thorin to unzip the dress. With one arm over her breasts, she lies down again and the healer inspects the scar.

“It looks rather well, and heals faster than I would have expected. But you will feel it for some time, I would advice you to slowly start training again and build up your stamina.”

“I will, thank you.”

The healer bows to them and leaves the room.

She gets up from the bed again and lift up her dress, Thorin closing it.

“Come on, lets get changed.” he says, and they walk to their chambers. There, they swiftly change into more suitable clothes for training and then go to the practice pits. When they arrive, they see Dwalin, Jeron, Fili, Kili, Elrond, Elladan and Elrohir already training, and Arwen and some other women and adolescents watching.

She greets them all, and then they tep into one of the rings, both taking a practice sword.

“Should you be doing that?’ Elrond asks, looking worriedly at his daughter.

“Docter’s orders.” She says with a mischievous smile.

But Elrond does not have a lot of confidence in her words, so he stands next to the pit. Thorin and Emma start practicing, but although he takes it easy on her, she is tired after half an hour, so they stop. They watch the others for a bit, talking to Arwen, and then go back to their chambers.

“I’m going to take a bath, I ache everywhere!” she sighs, and walks into the bathroom, stepping into the bath and filling it with hot water.

After five minutes, he also enters the bathroom.

“May I join you?” he asks a bit shy.

“You may.” She says softly.

He sits behind her and slowly starts massaging her shoulders and back and stroking her belly. After half an hour or so, the water starts to get cold, so he gets out and takes two towels, drying her off first, and then himself. As she stands in front of him naked, he softly cups her jaw and kisses her, becoming more passionate when she kisses him back. While still embracing eachother, they stumble back to the bedroom where Thorin lies her on the bed and kisses her more demanding, his hands running all over her body. But then she pulls away from him and softly says:

‘Thorin, will you—will you tell me what you like? In bed, I mean.”

“I like you in bed.” He says with a smile.

“No, I mean—I mean…You know what I mean!”

He chuckles and lies next to her. “I do know. But why do you ask?”

“Because I have no idea what men like.” She whispers, looking down.

“You mean to tell me that no one told you what can happen in bed?”

She shakes her head.

“Then how were you prepared for the wedding night?”

“I was told to lie on my back, do what you wanted and keep quiet.”

“You’re joking, right? Your brother told me you were a bit unprepared, but I just thought you had never seen a naked man or something.”

She shakes her head again.

“Well, if no one told you, then let me show you.” He says with a smile.

He kisses her again, and then softly pushes her head to his neck. “Kiss me there.”

She starts with pressing soft kisses on his neck, but then starts to suck and nibble at the sensitive skin, causing him to groan a bit. He then pushes her head further down, to his chest. “Kiss me there also.”

She does, and when she licks his nipple, he takes her hand and leads it to his already fully erect cock, putting her hand around it and his hand on top of hers, making slow pumping movements. When he feels his arousal hightening, he pushes her thumb with his thumb to the tip of his dick, showing her how to make small circular movement over the small slit there, spreading his pre-cum. He gasps when jolts of pleasure spread through his body.

“I like this very, very much.” He whispers with a fainth smile.

She takes her lips of his chest and looks at his dick. Then, she starts kissing the hard muscles on his belly, slowly going lower and lower and looking up at him to see his reaction. Thorin’s breathing has become ragged and his free hand is clenching the blanket.

“Emma.” He moans.

She presses a kiss on the tip of his dick and then swirls her tongue around it, evoking a sharp gasp from him. But then she does not exactly know what to do, and she looks up at him.

“Just..aaah…suck on it.” he moans.

Emma puts her lips around his dick and softly sucks. She feels his hand on the back of her head, softly pushing and pulling her head up and down. His other hand takes hers and puts it around the base of his dick, moving it in the same rhytm that her head moves.

“Aaah, like that, azyungal, yes!” he groans.

But as she feels him harden even further in her mouth, he pulls her head off him.

“Was it not—did you not like it?” she softly asks.

He passionately kisses her. “I just don’t want it to be over already. And I think it is time I found out what you like.” He mumbles.

“I believe you already know that.” She says, and when she bites her lower lip, he forgets everything around him and only focusses on kissing every single spot on her body.

By the time he finally reaches her sex, saving the best for last, she is already panting, pushing his head towards it. His tongue flickers over her slit, tasting the abundance of sweet wetness, and she moans, arching her back. He puts his hands firmly on her hips, pinning her down and spreading her legs, and starts circling her clit, intentionally going slow. Then, he takes one hand off her hips and slowly pushes a finger inside of her.

Instead of the anticipated moan, he feels her tense up. But when he takes his lips off of her to look at her face, her hands softly push him back again, so he continues his ministrations, his mind racing, wondering if it is something she does not like or if there is some other reason. But a loud moan brings him back to reality, and he sees her face distorted in pleasure as she climaxes under his tongue.

He gets up and lies next to her, looking in her eyes. But when he wants to say something, she kisses him and runs her hands through his hair, gently pulling it. He arches back, but then rolls on his back and pulls her on top of him.

“Ride me.” He groans, positioning his tip at her entrance.

She leans down on him, widening her eyes as she takes him all in. But then he puts his hands on her hips and guides her movements, hitting her spot with every roll of her hips. When she starts to move faster, he sits up and puts his arms around her in a tight embrace, holding her up as she arches back in her orgasm, her doing the same as he reaches his peak while groaning her name.

They lie in eachothers arms for a while, her playing with his chesthair.

“Should we talk about this?” he softly asks, knowing that she will understand he means the attack.

“There is nothing to talk about.” She says emotionless, but her downward gaze betrays her.

“I need to know.” He pauses. “Does anyone else knows?”

“Elrond knows.”

“Tell me, so I can help you get over it.”

“Telling you all the dirty details is not going to help; it will only stand between us. And I just want to forget about, so lets never speak of it again.”

He puts his forehead to hers, and whispers: “If you ever want to talk about it, or about anything else, please tell me, please trust me.”

She nods and he presses a kiss on her lips.

“But did you like—what I did?” she asks a bit shy.

“Mmmm, I loved it. But I think we should practice more often, a lot more often.” He says with a devious smile. “But seriously, did no one tell you what to expect in your wedding night?”

“No, not really. My old governess told me to lie back, do what you said and try not to make a sound.”

“No one ever had ‘the talk’ with you?”

“Which talk?”

“You know, the really embarrasing talk that one of your parents has with you when you grow up, about how your body changes and where babies come from.”

“No mother and a spitefull father, remember?”

“Our wedding night must have been terrible for you.” He ascertains.

“Yes.”

“Is it better now?”

She laughs. “A lot.”

“Shall I teach you some more then?”

“Mmm, what would you like to teach me?”

Her very innocent tone and big eyes make him forget all about going slow, and in a hoarse voice he says: “If you just turn around, just like that, yes, and then sit on your hands and knees and spread your legs a bit, right, exactly like that, then I will sit behind you.”

She has obediently followed all his directions and is now sitting as he said, with her legs spread wide, her throbbing sex completely ready for him. When she feels his tip at her entrance, a shiver of pleasure and anticipation runs down her spine and she can’t supress a loud gasp when he enters her, filling her completely. She also can not supress the image of Thranduil coming inside of her in a similar position, but that image lingers a lot shorter than the feelings of fulfillment Thorin gives her.

He groans. “Mahal! I need to—tell me if it is too hard.”

He starts pumping into her at a punishing rhytm, pulling her hips in the same pace, driving them both to new hights, Emma crying out his name when she comes undone, and Thorin bellowing out when he releases.

“That was—that was the best thing I have ever felt.” Emma pants out when they both lie on their back on the bed afterwards.

“I—I..”

But Thorin can momentarily not speak, still enjoying the gulfs of pleasure that run through his body. They lie like that for half an hour, slumbering a bit. But then there is a knock on the door.

“What?’’ Thorin says annoyed.

“There are several visitors here for you and her highnes, your highness.” A servant announces from the other side of the door, knowing he must not open it when the queen is in her bedroom.

Thorin sighs and looks at Emma. “You know, we could just ignore them and I will do that thing you like again.”

She laughs and hits him with a pillow. “Heavy is the head that wears the crown, husband.”

“I loaned that crown to Fili for a month so I could spend time with you.”

“Stop grouching and help me get dressed.”

“You do know that I employ three women to do that, right?” he laughs as he gets out of the bed.

When both are properly dressed, they walk to the antechamber, where they find a gathering of people and several trunks.

“A shipment from Rivendel for her highness, lady Arwen, Lord Elladan and Lord Elrohir to visit her highness and lady Jessa and lord Ferin to visit you your highness.” The servant announces.

“A shipment from Rivendell?” Emma asks, looking at her brothers and sister.

But they shrug their shoulders so she opens one of the five trunks. It is filled with gold coins, and as she opens the other four, she sees they are also completely full with gold and gems. She looks at Thorin, but he shakes his head, also not having sent this. But then it dawns on her and she smiles a bit.

“Who sends you that much gold?” Thorin asks her sharply.

“Melo.” She says, then switching to Khuzdul so her borthers and sisters don’t hear. >”Shall we discuss this some other time?”<

>”No need, it is nice of your brother to take care of you. Just tell the servant where to put it.”<

Emma closes the trunks again and turns to Arwen, Elladan and Elrohir. “Shall we go to the sitting room?”

“Great! We were just coming for a pre dinner drink.” Arwen smiles.

They sit down and Emma tells one of the servants to bring them some drinks, but then she is distracted by the conversation in the antechamber. As it is rather loud, all of them look up, but only Emma knows what is being said.

>”So she literally gets trunks full of gold and you don’t even want to give me a decent dowry?! You let all of her elven family stay here while my brothers are dead and I literally have no one to vouch for me at my wedding!”<

>”I told you what to expect before you gave yourself to me, so what do you want from me? I have arranged a marriage for you, a better one you would have gotten if you had never been my consort, and I gave you a house and a monthy allowance for Ferin. What more do you want?”<

>”I want you to care for your son and I want you to make sure I have a decent marriage and not being dependant on my husband!”<

>”I visit him at least once a week and he will be cared for for the rest of his life!”<

>”And her? If the two of you have children, will she have to care for them all by herself or will she get a small army of nannies and nurses? Will she have to spend her honeymoon with her child in the house?! You have thrown me away like trash!”<

>”Keep your voice down!”<

>”What? So she can’t hear us? So she will not be confronted with your past? I am being confronted with her everyday! Her, and that monster of a brother of hers!”<

Arwen, Elladan and Elrohir look at Emma, trying to find out what is going on, but she just clenches her jaw before she gets up and walks to the antechamber.

>”Why don’t you take this conversation somewhere more private, I believe the whole kingdom can enjoy the complaints about her substandard lifestyle.”< Emma says haughtily to Thorin, not wishing to speak to Jessa as it would give her leave to also speak to Emma.

>“Emma, perhaps you could….”< Thorin starts, but he is interrupted by a screaming Jessa.

>”You think you know everything so well, don’t you?! Just doing whatever you want, take whatever you want and make everyone else bend to you! You know what: here, get a feeling of the real life!”< And Jessa puts Ferin in Emma arms and runs out of the appartment.

Emma stands helplessly with the baby in her arms while Thorin barks at the servants to send some guards to find Jessa, but also has little idea what to do.

“Eeeeh, Thorin, are you going to take him?’ Emma asks as she holds the baby up for him.

“Eeeeh, you take care of him for a bit while I find Jessa. I will see you at dinner.” And he swiftly walks out of the door.

Emma goes back to the sitting room where her siblings look at her with a mixture of curiosity, surprise and worry.

“What happened?’ Elrohir asks.

“Jessa made it clear that she is quite unhappy with the life and the conditions of the marriage Thorin has set her up with. I think it all became a little too much for her and she needs some rest, or something.”

“And the baby?”

“Well, Thorin went to find Jessa, or used that as an excuse, so I guess I will have to find some nannies or nurses or something.”

She turns to the servant and tells him to find said women. But then the baby starts crying, and does not seem inclined to stop.

“Do something!” Emma pleads to Arwen. “I don’t know anything about babies!”

“Neither do I!” Arwen says with a little panic in her voice, seeing Ferin becoming a little red as he cries his lungs out.

They both look at Elladan and Elrohir, but they put up their hands and laugh while shaking their heads. “Not us either!”

“Then who?”

“Come on” Arwen says. “Ada will know what to do.”

The four of them hurry to Elrond’s wing, Ferin still crying in Emma’s arms. Elladan and Elrohir immediate disappear to their rooms, but when Emma and Arwen enter the sitting room, Elrond looks up from some papers he was reading and sees his daughters standing there with a very noisy baby, and the sweetest smile ever on Emma’s face.

“Ada, you have experience with babies, right?”

He sighs. “I have.”

“Then please, please, help me get this one quiet!”

He takes Ferin from Emma’s arms, and as he smells nothing foul, he guesses the child wants to eat. “Where is the mother?”

“Temporarily unreachable.” Emma says with a sour expression.

“Then get the servant to bring some warm milk in a bottle.”

While they wait for the milk, Elrond walks around the rooms with the baby on his arm, softly rocking it.

“I forgot how nice it is to have a baby around.” He says with a soft smile. “They bring life into a house.”

“A little too much.” Arwen says, but then a maid comes in with the bottle and some nappies.

Elrond hands Ferin back to Emma and gives her the bottle. “Go on, feed him.”

She sits down, looking rather uncomfortable again, and puts the bottle in the baby’s mouth. Within ten minutes the little boy has finished his food and then starts to smell quite abhorrent. She looks as sweet as possible to Elrond again, but he puts his hands up, so she turns to the maid. As she can not say no, she takes the child and a diaper and takes him to the bathroom.

“Emma, what are you doing with that child?’ Elrond asks sternly.

“It is Thorin’s son, Jessa brought him when she came to our chambers, but she got quite upset and put him in my arms and ran off. And as I can’t just leave him somewhere and no one seems to be able to find nanny or a nurse, it looks like I am stuck with him until either Thorin or Jessa return.”

“And you do not know how to care for a baby?” he says, still in a stern voice.

“How should I know how to care for a baby, I have never even seen one up close before this?!”

“You have never held baby before?” Arwen says astonished.

“No. Very few dwarven babies are born, and none in my family in the last 50 years. When Sindor was born I was too young to even hold him, and I don’t remember anything of it.”

The maid comes in with Ferin and gives him back to Emma.

“Do you think we can take him with us to dinner?” She asks Elrond.

“Sure, lets go. And for some good, fatherly advice: practice a little more with this one before you have children of your own.”

They walk into the dining hall and Emma takes her place, Elrond, Arwen, Elladan and Elrohir sitting next to her and Ferin on her lap. The bottle he has had and the murmur around him made him tired, so within no time he is sleeping on Emma’s arm. Emma tries to eat with one hand, but gives up her feeble attempts and instead talks to her father and siblings, telling them who everyone at the table is and giving them usefull background information.

Suddenly she feels a little tickle of a beard in her neck, and when she turns around, she sees it is Thorin. “You look adorable with baby in your arms.” He whispers and then takes a seat next to her.

“I do not think it would be a good idea for me to have one, as I could not even get him quiet by myself.” She laughs.

“What did you do then?”

“I went to my—Elrond.”

He starts laughing aloud. “You had to take him to your father to get him quiet?!”

Elrond looks up and also starts laughing. “I think that ball you’ll be hosting in two weeks is a bit prematurely, perhaps 10 years from now would be a better time.”

Emma looks mock offended. “he’s sleeping now, isn’t he?!”

“Jessa will come get him in an hour, she needed some time to compose herself again.” Thorin says assuringly.

“I see. Perhaps you can arrange some nannies in case she needs to compose herself another time.”

“Shall we discuss this later in private?”

“Right.”

“Now come on, give him to me.”

Thorin takes Ferin from Emma’s arms and looks at his firstborn that, although coming from him, will never truely be his. But he will not let sadness take him over, so instead, he just hold his son and enjoys his dinner with family and friends

When they finish dinner, Emma and Arwen go back to Emma’s room while Thorin stays in the dinning hall. She introduces Arwen to her handmaidens and together they catch up for the rest of the night.


	32. Cultural differences

“So I’m not invited?! You actually mean to tell me that I wasn’t deemed worthy enough to attend?!”

“Of course not, don’t be dramatic! Don’t you think your presence, and that of your family, would make things a bit uncomfortable?”

It is the day before Jessa’s and Durer’s wedding and Thorin has just told her it might not be a good idea for her to attend.

“Then how is it that it would not be uncomfortable for me if she attends the ball?!”

“Because I had to give Durer the title of baron in order to get the marriage arranged, and as he is nobility, I have to invite him to the ball.”

“I am queen! I can go to whatever event I want!”

“Your most certainly can.” Thorin says calmly. “I am just asking you not to; it would make things tense. And be honest, do you really want to go or are you just offended that I ask you not to go?”

Thorin’s reasonable tone makes that Emma also calms down and stops screaming, although she is still pouting. He sees it and cups her face in his large, rough hands. “Go have some fun with your brothers and sister and handmaidens tomorrow night. Go to Dale or something and enjoy yourself, and tomorrow this wedding thing will be over and we can focus on your ball.”

“Our ball.”

“No, this one is really about you; you being the one getting pregnant and all.” Thorin chuckles.

“Hearing Ferin has made me even more sure that I’m not going to get pregnant any time soon, so don’t get your hopes up!”

He pulls her towards her and puts his hands on her waist, his eyes half closed and dark. “Mmmm, perhaps we should practice a bit more then.”

“You just told me that I am not invited to an event in my kingdom and now you would like to have sex?!”

Thorin bites his lower lip, fully aroused by the fire inside of his wife. “I think you misunderstood me: it wasn’t a suggestion.”

She recognizes his sultry look, and her body immediately responds, but she is still a bit upset. “Really? Not a suggestion? Too bad then that my brother is coming soon, so I don’t have time to engage in your non-suggestions.”

“Your brother is coming?! No! Your brother can not come here! I thought it was pretty clear that I can not stand his presence!”

“I think you misunderstood me: it wasn’t a question.” She says teasingly.

“Not a question, huh?” he groans. “Then it must be a command. Let me show you about commands.” And he pushes her over to the bed and bends her over to it, pulling her dress up, her panties down and spreading her legs.

Then he quickly pulls the laces of his breaches loose and frees his throbbing erection, taking it in his hand and positioning at her entrance. She is already panting in anticipation, and when he thrusts inside, she moans loudly. He pounds into her mercilessly and a mere minute later she finishes while moaning his name. He grabs her shoulders with one hand, allowing him to thrust into her even harder, and he screams out when he comes undone. Thorin falls on top of her, breathing heavily.

After a minute or so, Thorin rolls of her and she gets ups, looking down at him lying on the bed.

“My brother is still coming.” She says with a hint of authority in her voice.

For a few seconds he says nothing, but then he just blandly nods.

As the trumpets at the gate announce a royal visitor, Emma walks out of her chambers and goes to greet her brother.

**”Namad! I see you have made the right choice in coming back; you look great!”**

She blushes a bit, not used to getting compliments. **”I m really glad you’re here, but I am afraid we will have to go somewhere else tomorrow night. It’s Jessa’s wedding and Thorin has asked me not to attend.”**

He looks at his feet. **”I’m sorry, namad, I really…”**

**”Stop feeling guilty and just go to a tavern or something with me and our brothers and sister!”**

The rest of the day they spend with Elrond, Arwen, Elladan and Elrohir, training a bit, having dinner and talking while enjoying some whine.

The next day, all normal life has come to a halt as everyone is busy preparing for the wedding that will take place in the evening. Unable to use the practice hall, as all the pits are being used by guests, Emma decides to go to Arwen and see if she wants to do something. But Elrond has taken his three oldest children for a walk outside the mountain, so no luck there.

Bored out of her mind, she goes back to her chambers, where she picks up a book and aimlessly starts flipping through it while lying on one of the chaise longues in the sitting room. But one of the servants announces his presence with a discrete cough, as the door is already open, and says:

“You father and brother have arrived. His highness has already greeted them and they are joining him for lunch.”

She tries to hide the very sour expression on her face and thanks the servant. When he has left, she rushes out of the rooms and walks swiftly to the dining hall. The visit from her former father and brother can not mean anything good, especially with the wedding being tonight, and she must try to do some damage control.

When she enters the buzzing dining hall, she sees the two of them sitting next to Thorin, and to her surprise Sindor has brought his wife, Meni, but she is sitting a long way down the table, amongst the wives of some lower nobles, her head down and trying not to stand out.

She takes her place next to Thorin and greets her former father and brother as politely as she can muster.

**“Is there a speacial reason you have come here today?”** she asks.

**“Of course. We were invited by the bride herself to attend the wedding. She included a very thoughfull note in the invitation, stating that she hoped we could come and that she looks forward to meeting us.”**

Emma clenches her jaw as she sees a last, desperate attempt of her huband’s former consort to get back at her, but she says nothing.

**“Will you also be attending, Emma?”** Sindor asks with a wolfish smile.

**“Unfortunately I have other commitments tonight, so I will not be present.”**

**”What a shame.”** he replies sarcatically.

Thorin cannot follow the conversation, but did notice the tension in his wife. “Shall we go through the last details of your meeting tonight?” he asks her.

“Yes, that would be great.”

Thorin offers her his hand and she gets up.

**”Sindor, please send your wife to me in my rooms in half an hour, it would be a delight to catch up with her.”** Emma says, and then walks away.

When they enter the royal corridor, Emma says to Thorin:

“Whatever you do, do not let them near Jessa tonight!”

“Why not?”

“Because there must be a reason that she invited them personally, and I do not want to find out what it is.”

“She invited them personally?”

“Yes, with a note included that she looks forward to meeting them personally. She will probably want to spill all her gall over what has happened and I do not want it to become public knowledge. So keep them away!”

“I will do my best.”

Thorin kisses her cheek and goes into his study, while Emma asks a servant to fetch Arwen when she comes back, and rings for her handmaidens.

Half an hour later, Emma is already relaxing on one of the sofas with her handmaidens when Arwen and, a little later, Meni come in. They spend the afternoon catchng up and getting ready for the evening, trying on dresses and doing eachother’s hair. A little before the wedding is supposed to start, they are disturbed by Thorin walking in, acompanied by Sindor. They seem to be talking about some business, when Sindor sees the group of women and notices an elf amidst them. His complexion turns pale and his look changes into one of utter anger.

**”You have been spending the whole afternoon here, and with an elf?!”** he spats out to his wife. **“I told you to make a quick visit and then return to our chambers!”**

**”I—I..”** but she can not finish her sentence as he hits her hard across the cheek.

She starts crying, and the women gasp for air. Arwen wants to get up, but Emma stops her.

~” Don’t.”~

**”So you speak their foul language also, sister. Have you become one of those tree-huggers?”** Sindor snarls at Emma, not minding the others in the room.

**”Better to be friend with an elf than to have an orkish mother!”** Emma snarls back, and Sindor looks as if he will also hit her.

**”Don’t even think about it!”**

**”I will get you back for this!”** Sindor hisses at her, an he stumps out of the rooms, dragging his still crying wife with him.

Thorin looks as if he wants to say something, but then also leaves the rooms.

“Why did you not do anything, Emma?!” Arwen asks angrily

“Because this was an example of a man only using the law in his marriage, and not common practice. He has a right to hit her, and only she can do something about it by leaving him, but she doesn’t.”

“Certainly someone could say something about it?!”

“No, no one can and it would only make things worse for her.”

Emma sees Arwen looking at her in a judging manner and sighs. “Shall we talk about it later? We have to leave now.”

Arwen nods, and together they walk to the main entrance, where Melo, Elrond, Elladan and Erohir are already waiting for them. They notice the tension between Arwen and Emma, but say nothing for the moment.

But when they are sitting in the tavern and Arwen keeps sending angry glares to Emma, Elrond speaks up:

“Out with it, what is the matter?”

“Emma seems to be just fine with her brother hitting women!” Arwen spits out.

Elrond looks at Melo. “What did Melo do?” he asks Emma, astonished.

She sighs irritated. “Not Melo, Sindor. He hit his wife because she had spent the afternoon with us and, well, eeh, because Arwen was also there.”

“Arwen?”

Emma sighs, but now with a little shame. “Because you are elves.”

“Right. And you did not say anything about it?”

“No.”

“So do you agree with Sindor?”

Emma scoffs. “No. I do not agree with him.”

“Then why did you not say anything?!” Arwen almost yells.

The others are looking at Emma, Elrond and Arwen, but don’t participate in the conversation; Emma’s handmaidens and Melo because they know the situation and the culture, Elladan and Elrohir because they are curious about Emma’s answer.

“First of all, we do not intervene in these affairs. By law, a man has the right to treat his wife as he sees fit, although most men would not hit their wife and it gives her the right to leave him. And second, he has treated her like this for the whole year they are married. Me and Melo have tried to talk to her many times, Melo has even offered her a very large amount of gold so she could start a new life somewhere else, but she does not leave him even though they have no children.”

“So it is her own fault?” Elrohir asks sarcastically.

“It is not her fault that he hits her, but it is her fault for staying with him. The trade agreements that were made through this marriage have ended with Melo taking the throne, so there is no political reason for her to stay, nor is there a financial reason. We have offered to help her, but she refused us. What more can we do?”

For a long while, no one says anything, but the Elrond speaks up. “We can never know what happens behind closed doors, and I think there is a cultural difference here. Perhaps we should let the matter rest.”

“You’re right, ada, I’m sorry.” Arwen says, looking at Emma with an apologetic smile.

“It doesn’t matter.” Emma shrugs. “it is very difficult to explain these things, as the unspoken norm and values are so intangible, especially when they do not match the written laws.”

The rest of the night, they talk, carefull to avoid sensible topics.

When they arrive back at Erebor around one, Emma is surprised to find Thorin in their rooms, waiting for her. He pat on the bed next to him.

“Come sit with me.”

“What is it? Did something go wrong at the wedding?”

Thorin sighs. “Jessa spoke with Sindor and his father; she told them everything. And to say that they are upset is an understatement.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore. She is married and they will be leaving soon, Melo will send Sindor somewhere else.’” She shrugs.

“I am afraid it is more complicated than that.”

“How?” Emma frowns as she sees that her husband is quite upset.

“They have asked me to cast him out.” Thorin softly says.

Emma gasps. “He just won’t stop! What did you tell them?”

“They have also spoken with the other kings present, including Dain, so it is not in my hands.”

“Seriously?’ Emma says, both angry and shocked.

“Yes. And I don’t know how much I can do to make this go away.”Thorin admits. “This has now become statebusiness, and I can not make it look like I let your brother do what he wants just because he is your brother. The hearing is tomorrow.”

“I need you to make this go away, Thorin. I don’t care what you have to do, just make it go away.” Emma pleads.

“It will be a vote, Emma, and I can not influence or pressure anyone, it would not be fair.”

“Many things are not fair, but they happen anyway.”

“Don’t you get it?! I can not tell other kings how to vote, it would make me look like an idiot!”

Emma stiffens. “Right. If you would excuse me, I have to speak to my brother now.”

And before Thorin can say anything else, she rushes out of the room.


	33. Surrender

**”Have you heard?”** Emma asks Melo in a worried voice.

**”I have. Come in and we’ll talk about it.”

Melo pokes up the fire in the sitting room, and then sits down. **”Thorin refuses to influence the other kings.”** Emma says softly.

**”He does not want to lose face.”** Melo nods

**”I can influence Elrond and Fili, and perhaps Kili if he gets a vote, but I do not know the others very well.”**

**”Has Thorin told you who will be present?”**

Emma frowns and shakes her head.

**”All the kings, with one advisor whom has voting rights each, Dain, also with an advisor with voting rights, and Gandalf and Galadriel.”**

**”Why them?”**

**”Because I am king, and a king can not be judged by anyone else but a king. And because father and Sindor do not want to make it look like they bought, bribed or influenced someone, they have asked all parties involved in the treaty. Plus Dain as he is here and is also a dwarven king.”

**”Inviting everyone that was involved in the treaty is a threat by itself.”**

**”Father is cunning, but him trying to have me outcasted is heavily influenced by Sindor, who wants the crown for himself.”**

**”So Bard with an advisor, Thranduil with an advisor, Elrond with an advisor, Thorin with an advisor, Dain with an advisor, Gandalf and Galadriel will be present. That makes 12 votes, of which I can probably influence 7.”**

**”Unless any of those votes withdraw.”**

**”What do you mean, withdraw?”**

**”If Thorin or Elrond decide they can not make an objective judgement, they will withdraw, and with them their advisor, so we will lose those votes.”**

**”Then we only have 3 of the 8 votes!”**

**”Yes.”**

Emma thinks for a long while, and then smiles. **”I have a plan, nadad, but there might be some risks. You could lose everything. Do you trust me?”**

**”That is the most redundant question ever!”**

Emma starts explaining, and at the end, both siblings are smiling.

**”We’ll do it, but you will not beg.”** Melo says

**”It will be easier if Thorin does what I want instead of this whole thing.”**

**”Easier, but not better. Do not do it, namad!”

The rest of the night, they keep talking, sending out ravens, drawing up papers and even asking two guards to witness the signing of the papers. In the end, they count how many vote sthey can get:

**”Galadriel?”**

**”Yes, I think I can get her vote for you. She will not want the treaty endangered, and this is not important enough for her to do so. That’s one.”**

**”Bard?”**

**”No, not yet veteraned enough to know what the consequences of his vote may be.”**

**”Dain?”**

**”Certainly not. Despicable creature.”**

**”Thranduil?”**

**”Yes. But not Legolas. So thats two.”**

**”How can you be sure?”**

**”I just am.”**

**”Do I want to know?”**

**”No.”**

**”Gandalf?”**

**”Yes. That makes three.”**

**”Elrond?”**

**”Yes, and Elladan also. So we have five.”**

**”Thorin?”**

**”Yes, and I will call in my favor with Fili, so that makes seven.”**

**”There is no room for error.”**

**”I didn’t make any.”**

Then, in the early hours of the next day, when everything is arranged they hug, and Emma goes back to her rooms, trying to get some sleep.

But sleep does not come, and she lies awake, worrying and planning, as does Melo. An hour before breakfast, Thorin and Emma get up, but while Emma bathes, Thorin quickly throws some clothes on and walks over to Elrond’s wing. Over breakfast, the men discuss what will happen during the hearing, sending Arwen away.

When Emma is dressed, she walks over to the dining hall, followed by Jalila, where she sits next to Fili.

“Will you be Thorin’s advisor later?” She asks him.

He gazes down, but then nods.

”You know what I mean to ask you, right?”

”I can not do it, Emma. I have to listen to what will be said and see how Thorin votes. You know very well that advisors vote the same as their king does.”

“You owe me, Fili. A life for a life.” Emma says softly.

Fili gasps for air. “That is not fair, Emma!”

“Why do people keep talking about fair? I am not talking about fair, I am talking about you doing me a favor because without me, you would have no favors to give.”

“That is a low blow, Emma.” Fili says reproachfully.

“Tell me honestly: would you not do the same for your brother?”

Fili looks at Kili, whom is talking to some noble girl while having breakfast, and then back to Emma. “I would.” He admits. “But my brother would never do something so stupid.”

“You don’t know what you speak of, Fili.”

“I do know that you have gotten hurt already in the process, so I highly doubt that you should get involved now.”

“Yes, well, that is my decision.”

Fili sighs and then bows his head. “I will do as you ask. But after this, my debt is paid.”

“Thank you, Fili.” Emma says.

The next stop she has to make is with Elrond, and she is surprised to see that her husband is already there when she enters her father’s dining room. Jalila sits down, while Emma stands in front of Thorin and Elrond.

“How are you, selde?” Elrond asks softly.

“Let’s get to the point, ada. You all know why I am here.”

The four men look at her, no one wanting to start the conversation, but then Thorin sighs, and says:

“Azyungal, we know what has happened, and we know he should be found guilty. The only reason why we would declare him not guilty would be for you. And it is not fair and will be noticed by the others, so we will withdraw our vote.”

Emma’s eyes widen in surprise and fear for a split second, but then her face turns to stone.

“You have no idea what will happen if you cast Melo out. Everything will have been in vane, everything will be in danger.”

“Sindor and his father have already assured us that the treaty will not be in danger, no matter what our decision.” Elladan says.

Emma closes her eyes for a moment, and then says in a pleading voice: “Do it for me.”

“We can not. I already helped you with this once, I can not do it again, especially in front of other rulers.” Elrond says, his voice betraying how much this decision hurts him.

Emma looks at the floor for several seconds, and then slowly gets at her knees in front of them, almost touching the floor with her forehead. Elrond looks shocked, while Thorin hisses sharply.

“Don’t do it, Emma. You’re a Durin now, and Durin’s don’t beg!” Thorin says.

But Emma starts whispering, her words only meant for Thorin and Elrond.

“What is she doing?” Elladan whispers to Jalila.

“I don’t really know how to explain it, but she is like, eeh, giving over completely to them so they will grant her this favor.” She whispers back.

“And what does giving over completely entails?”

“Eeeeh, it means something like that she will do everything they want, or something specific they want, I think.”

“But she already told them she will do everything they want, and it did not help.”

“Yes, but if she does it like this, she shows that she puts her pride aside completely. It is really difficult to explain what this means, and I don’t know exactly, but it has profound meaning, as us dwarves are proud beings.”

“And can they refuse?”

Jalila hesitates, but then says: “They can. But it would be humiliating to Emma and very harsh on their part. She would probably cut her hair shot, like a male would cut his beard. They can accept her offer, refuse it, or do what she wants without taking her offer. The latter being the most honorable thing to do of course, especially as she is Thorin’s wife and your fathers daughter.”

“But what would she offer them?” Elrohir asks, having followed the hushed conversation between Jalila and Elladan with ease.

“That is part of what she is telling them now, but it is not for us to hear; it is between them. So it would be curtious if you didn’t listen to it.”

Elrond keeps looking shocked at his daughter, still on her knees before them, while Thorin looks down at her with a tormented expression on his face. Finally she stops whispering and looks up at them, still on her knees.

“You would go this far, azyungal?” Thorin says softly

She closes her eyes for a second and then nods.

“Would you mind explaining what this is?” Elrond softly asks Thorin.

“I believe it is something like us offering our hair, ada.” Elladan interjects, “Only then – deeper, more difficult.”

Elrond gasps sharply. “I—we—“ He is unable to finish his sentence, as Thorin interjects.

“We will consider your request and the payment you have offered and you will see our decision at the hearing and inform you if a payment is needed afterwards.” He says formally.

Emma gets up and bows deeply. Then, she leaves the room without saying anything.

“What did she do?” Elrond asks Thorin breathlessly, still unable to comprehend what he just saw.

Thorin thinks for a while, and then starts explaining.

“This is normally done by a defeaten enemy, someone in deep debt or a criminal or something, so it is highly unusual for a queen to do it, especially for someone else. I believe there to be a message in the act itself, beside the payment she has offered.”

“Which message?”

“She has shown us how far she is willing to go for her brother.”

“And how far is that?”

Thorin grunts in frustration at the cultural differences. “She has basically handed herself over to us, so she will give herself up for her brother.”

“Like a slave, you mean?”

“No, that would merely be her body. It goes much further than that, but it is difficult to explain to an outsider. If pride and honor were objects, she just handed them to us, to do with it as we please.”

“That is very much out of charactre!” Elrond says appaled.

“Then you see the meaning of what she did.”

“And what about the things she offered, does she mean it?”

“Of course, but it would be disrsepectfull to speak of it to others.” Thorin says while he glances at Elladan, Elrohir and Jalila, whom are following the conversation with big eyes, Jalila forgetting that she is Emma’s handmaiden and she has no reason whatsoever to be there.

Elrond turns to Jalila. “Would you please excuse us?’

“Of course, my apologies.” She says, and she quickly leaves the room.

“What are the possible outcomes?’ Elrond asks Thorin when Jalila shuts the door behind her.

“We can do what she wants and accept her offer, we can do what she wants but not accept her offer, or we can decline.”

“What if we decline?”

“Then we basically throw her pride and honor out of the window.”

“And then?”

“I can not predict it with certainty, but she will probably cut off her hair and follow her brother.”

“So she really forces our hand with this?”

Despite the very difficult situation, Thorin laughs. “She did. Normally the receiver can easily decline, as the pride and honor of the offerer are of little concern to him. As I said, I don’t think this has ever happened before. Very few people have the courage to do it.”

“We can not decline without her losing her pride and honor?” Elrond asks, uncertainty in his voice.

“No. We can accept without taking her offer, which would bring us honor, but we can not decline without consequences for her.”

“And if we accept, would she not feel ashamed anyway?”

Thorin squints as he is thinking. “I don’t think so. This is a very formal, very important thing to do, and if we say we accept without taking her offer, she will know that we have thought about it carefully and that the matter is closed. In a way, it is very honorable of her to do this for her brother, so if we accept, it would be good for her also.”

“And her offer? Will you take it?”

“I would prefer to discuss this without others present.” Thorin says stiffly.

Elladan and Elrohir gaze down. “We already heard the part in common tongue, we couldn’t help it, sorry.” The eldest says.

“The offer is always whispered for a reason. It is a very intimate thing between giver and receiver.” Thorin says sharply.

Elladan and Elrohir turn red, but do not say anything more.

Thorin turns back to Elrond. “She has offered me what I want, but I will not take it, regardless if I accept or decline.”

“Why?”

“Why do you want to know?’ Thorin says defensively

“Because I am trying to figure out what just happened and how I should respond to it!”

“I will not take it because she is my wife, and the things she has offered me should be a mutual decision, not something offered to protect her brother.”

“She offered you pleasure?!” Elrohir asks, his face showing how appaled he is.

“No of course not! What do you think she is, a common whore?!” Thorin barks, and the three elves look down in shame, all having thought that Emma had offered her body to Thorin.

But then Elrond knows what Emma has offered Thorin while sitting on her knees before them, her head almost touching the floor in complete surrender, and when Thorin looks at Elrond, he understands that the father of his wife knows.

“She would go that far to save her brother?” Elrond softly asks him.

“She would. But I won’t.”

“And should I take her offer?”

“I can not give any advice on the matter. You have to make this decision.”

“How can I make it when I don’t know what it really means?!” Elrond says frustrated.

“How do you not know what it means?!”

“She offered to do ‘anything I want’. How do I know what it is!!”

“In this thing, anything really means anything; material or immaterial.”

“And what is the common response to it?”

“I have not seen this happen very often, only once really, when someone was deeply endebted to my grandfather and could not pay him back. I don’t know if ‘anything’ was offered then, but I highly suspect it was, and my grandfather asked for a large piece of the man’s hair.”

“And he gave it?”

“Of course.”

“So I should ask for my daughter’s hair?!”

“Only if you take her offer and only if you don’t really want anything from her, but do want to teach her a lesson.”

“Teach her a lesson?! I think she is a bit too old for that!” Elrond scuffs.

“She has surrendered herself to our judgement, and she knows what it entails, so it would not be strange for you to do so. And I think part of it is also atonement.” Thorin says flatly.

“Atonement?”

“The offerer has done something that he or she can not fix but does feel guilty about, and offering something difficult and then carrying it out atones them. At least, that is what my grandfather said.” Thorin explains.

“And I should do the same?”

Thorin sighs “Again, that is up to you. You are not to be adviced on this decision, and I have perhaps already said too much.”

“Thorin, I need advice on this. I have no experience whatsoever with this thing. If elves do something really dishonorable, they offer their hair to the one they have offended, but that is it. She has offered me anything, how do I know what to do?!”

“It is normally not done between a parent and a child or between spouses, so I have little clue on how to proceed.”

“If it is not done between relatives, then why did she do it?”

“Because she did not speak to us as relatives, but as monarchs. We declined when she just asked us as relatives.”

“Is she considered adult amongst dwarves?”

“She is married, so she is.”

“And if she were not married?”

“it is difficult to say. Men are battle ready at thirty, but are not considered adults before they are 70 or 80, depeding on how mature they are. Women are legally adult at the same age, but are commonly considered adult when they are physically and mentally mature or are married. Why do you ask?”

“Because I can not just give her what she wants without there being any consequences, this matter is too grave for that. Please give me your advice!”

“I can’t. It would be dishonorable.”

“Why can’t you advice him?’ Elrohir asks.

“Because the offer is between giver and receiver, and should not be interfered with by others.”

“But we don’t know anything about this. Can’t you give some advice on account of cultural differences?” Elrohir presses

Thorin sighs. “Fine. But I will not tell you what you should do, only if you shouldn’t do anything.”

“Should the punishment fit with what she has asked of me?”

“It doesn’t have to. And I can not think of anything that would fit.”

“She really cornered me, hasn’t she?” Elrond sighs. “I do not want to vote, as it would be wrong and I have already done wrong once, but I also do not want to humiliate her.”

“Think about it some more, but regarding to your decision whether to do what she has asked, I can tell you this: knowing Emma and her brother, this is not the only thing they are doing. They have another trick up their sleeve, they always do.”

“How do you know?”

“I have known Emma since she was very young, and she is a briliant strategist. He is not stupid either, but misses her refinement. He is too blunt in his actions, that is why we are here now. Compared to animals, he s a bull and she is a pheline. She used to advice Melo, and he relied heavily on her. I suspect it was her that got him control over the army.”

“Then why humiliate herself in front of us if they have another option?”

“Because their other option is probably more risky.”

Elrond sighs and puts his face in his hands. After a moment, he looks at Thorin again. “Why does she do all these things for her brother? Why does she still stands by him?”

“I think they are more close than your sons or my nephews will ever be. I don’t think they make any big decision without first asking the other one for advice, and I can not imagine anything that would force them apart.”

“Why?”

“The truth?” Thorin asks

Elrond nods.

“Because he was the only one standing by her when she was young, untill the time we got married. Without him I doubt she would have survived.”

“You mean that Sindor or his father would have killed her?!”

“That, or she would probably have killed herself.” Thorin says softly.

Elrond’s face contorts in pain. “Was it that bad?” he whispers.

“It was.”

“What happened?”

“You have to ask her that yourself. I do not know much of it, and it is not my place to speak about it. But I doubt she will tell you, she doesn’t talk about it.”

Elrond nods.

“And now we have to go, the hearing will start soon. Who will be your advisor?”

Elrond looks at Elladan and Elrohir, both unwilling to offer themselves. After a moment he says: “Elladan.” And his oldest and heir gets up and hesitantly follows them to the small courtroom.

There, they find everyone already present, Sindor and his father once more promissing that the outcome will have no influence on the treaty, and Melo sitting in the front, showing no emotion or expression whatsoever.

A long table has been placed in the room for this occasion, and everyone takes a seat. As Thorin sits, he waves at the guards to close the doors, and they are ready to start. But when it is finally quiet, the doors are being opened again and Emma walks in, accompanied by two of Melo’s guards, and takes a seat on one of the benches on the sides of the room.

“No spectators are allowed, only…”Sindor starts, but his voice trails of as he sees the crown on Emma’s head, gaping at her.

“As this concern one of my subjects, I am allowed.” Emma says haughtily to the men present, who are now all looking at her in surprise, realising what has happened.

Melo gets up. “All hail to the new queen.” He says with a bow, and the rest of the kings and advisors get up and do the same, still gobsmacked, while Galadriel and Gandalf exchange a glance.

“She can not be queen. She is a woman and I am next in line!” Sindor says furiously.

“I might have changed some laws over the past couple of months, it is not my fault you don’t read papers before you sign them.” Melo says with a smug smile. “So I suggest you get up and bow before your new monarch.”

Grudgingly and murmuring to himself, Sindor does, but with only the smallest of bows.

“And Emma will handle all matters in her kingdom?” Thranduil tentatively asks, looking at Emma with an amused smirk on his face. She looks back at him, his blue eyes piercing straight into hers, with a hint of an evenly amused smile and an eyebrow that is crooked just a little bit. Not enough for the others to notice, but clear to him.

“She will. The whole kingdom is under her control and the nobles have all pledged their allegiance to her.” Melo says.

“That can not be, as they are not here!” Sindor says, clenching his jaw.

“That is of no influence, they have done so by raven.”

“And does this change anything?” Bard asks Emma.

“I do not have a vote, regardless of my position.” She answers politely.

“And with regard to politics?” he presses.

“I think it would be a good idea to talk politics after the hearing, I would hate to disrupt the proceedings.” Emma says.

\--A bold move.—Emma hears Galadriel saying in her head.

\--Yes.—

\--But you are not proud of it.—

\--No.—

\--Does it change anything?—

\--It will change everything, or nothing.—

Galadriel smiles knowingly at her, but then Thorin opens the hearing and Sindor explains why the request has been made and why it is important that Melo be casted out. The revelations cause quite a stir amongst the people present, but Thorin is able to keep order.

Then, Melo explains his point, that he was already found innocent and that this is a trick to get his crown and position.”

After three hours of talking, it is finally time for the vote. Normally, Thorin, being the chairman, would vote first, but he asks Dain to cast his vote. Dain looks at Melo, at Thorin and then at Emma.

“I am in favor of casting him out.”

Thorin nods and then asks Dain’s advisor, whom gives the same answer.

“Gandalf?”

“Against.”

“Galadriel?”

“Against.”

“Bard?”

“In favor.”

“And your advisor?’

“In favor.” The man says.

“Thranduil?”

Thranduil looks at Emma, and he has to do his utmost best not to grin out loud. He admires what she has done; when he heard her speak of power and freedom, he had believed it to be dreams of a young woman, but now she has already accomplished what she wanted. And of course he thinks back off the afternoon in Rivendel, how he had put his hands on those delicious hips and had slammed into her. It would be a shame to let someone so interesting down.

“Against.”

“And your advisor?”

“In favor.” Legolas says, causing all to jerk their heads up at him, as it is highly unusual that an advisor votes differently than his king, and even more unusual that a son goes against his father. But no one says anything, so Thorin continues.

“Elrond?”

Elrond hesitates. He looks at Emma and then at his hands, trying to decide what to do. It seems like hours go by, but then he finally says: “Against.”

“Elladan?”

“Against.”

“We now have 5 votes in favor of casting Melo out and 5 against. Fili, what is your vote?”

Emma lifts her head a bit, looking at Fili. The crown prince of Erebor looks back at her, staring straight into her eyes, and says:

“Against.”

Then, all heads turn to Thorin, so they do not see Emma bowing her head to Fili. Thorin’s vote is the decisive one, as a tie would mean a conviction. He looks at all the people present, and then at his wife. He hates that she forced his hand, as he can’t stand being forced to do anything, but he also does not want to humiliate her and having her leave with her brother. He did not say it to Elrond, but when they entered the courtroom, he still did not make up his mind. He had expected a vast majority in favor of casting Melo out, what would mean his vote would really be moot, but after the little change-of-power trick Emma and Melo played, it is his vote that will decide everything. He knows Emma has spoken to Fili, and has reminded him of what she did for him, and then looks at the crown on Emma’s head. It is difficult to say whether the change in power is just a display to influence the outcome of this hearing, or that his wife now holds the actual power over her brother’s kingdom, but it is of little influence to his decision. If he votes guilty, his world would fall apart anyway.

Emma starts trembling when Thorin takes so long to decide, and has to hold on to the bench to remain still. Then, Thorin casts his vote:

“Against. Melo is free of all charges.”

She closes her eyes and sighs in relief, but Sindor and his father turn red, and almost start yelling, but remain quiet as they see the guards that have accompanied Emma approaching them. They want to leave the courtroom with all the others leaving, but the strong hands of the guards on their shoulders prevent them from doing so, so they remain seated untill everyone but Thorin, Elrond, Melo and Emma have left. Then Emma nods at the guards, and Sindor and his father are unceremoniously lifted from their chairs and dragged out of the courtroom.

On his way out, Thranduil stops next to Emma.

“i see you have waisted no time in achieving your goals.”

She bites the corner of her lower lip so she does not smile too much. “The opportunity presented itself and I saw no reason to wait.”

“Does your brother knows you used his misfortune to your benefit?” Thranduil asks with an admiring smile.

An smug grin appears on her face and she shrugs her shoulders. “Who knows what he knows. What matters is that he is free of all charges.”

Thranduil pretends to nod solemnly. “Yes, that is all that matters.” He says with a wink, and then he also leaves the courtroom.

When all have left and the door are closed again Melo nods his head to Emma, beckoning him to follow her, but she shakes her head and takes off her crown, places it on the bench and walks to the table where Thorin and Elrond are still sitting. She once again sits on her knees before them, her head down, and says:

“I humbly await your judgement on my offer.”

Melo gasps, and shock spreads over his face.

**“You did it anyway?!”**

She does not look at him, but Thorin and Elrond do.

“You did not know of this?” Thorin asks Melo, seeing the shock on his face.

“I told her not to.” Melo says breathlessly.

“Then you can be thankfull that your sister is smarter than you. Without her, I would be shaving your head by now.”

Melo says nothing, still looking at his sister with big eyes. Thorin turns back to Emma.

“I will not take anything from you, azyungal. Consider the matter closed.”She bows her head deeper to him and then turns to Elrond.

“I will take your offer.” He says.

She also bows deeply to him and remains on her knees. But Elrond does not say anything more, and looks at her strangely when she does not get up after a moment or two.

“You have to tell her what to do now, or at least say when she will hear what you want from her, otherwise she has to keep waiting.” Thorin whipers to Elrond.

“Oh, right. Come to my rooms tonight after dinner and we will discuss what I want from you.”

Emma bows again and gets up, she takes her crown and walks to her rooms, and after glancing at Thorin and Elrond, Melo does the same.

“She does not see it, does she?” Elrond says to Thorin.

“See what?”

“How he is, and what it costs her.”

Thorin scoffs. “She knows it very well, but because of things that happened, she will never turn him down.”


	34. Payment

After dinner, Elrond walks back to his wing and takes a seat on one of the sofas in the sitting room. Five minutes later, Emma is announced. She wants to take another bow, but Elrond stops her and leads her to a chair opposite to his sofa.

“Have a seat, selde.”

She does and looks at him, showing no emotion. For a few moments, he looks back at her, sitting there in silence. But then he starts to speak:

“I am really disappointed in you.”

She lowers her gaze, feeling guilty.

“You have forced me to do things I did not want to do, in a way that none of my other children ever would. I helped Melo the first time because you manipulated me, but I did not want to do it this time.”

He pauses for a moment and sees her looking at her feet and clenching her jaw.

“You have made both your husband and me look like nepotists in front of other rulers. Do you have any idea what that means for us?!

Emma is biting her lip now, but she still does not look at him.

“Do you regret what you did?”

She shakes her head and then looks up at him. “No, I do not.”

“So you would do it again?”

“Yes.”

“Even after what I just said?”

“Yes.” She whispers, looking down again.

“And what would have happened if your husband and I had withdrawn our votes? And the whole truth, please, leave nothing out.” He says the last part sternly, doubting that Emma would tell him everything if he did not ask for it.

“Melo would have been casted out. I would have carried out his wishes and then perhaps have followed him, I did not yet make up my mind on that as I did not expect it to be necessary.”

“His wishes being?” Elrond interrupts her.

“All treaties would have ended, and all that voted in favor of casting Melo out would have been regarded as enemies.”

“You would have had war.”

“Yes.”

“Do you not care about that, about your own country?”

“It was Melo’s meaning: to show his father and half-brother that he could still do what he wanted; taking what they wanted to have.”

“Do you have any idea how childish that is?!”

Emma looks down at her feet again, making Elrond feel utterly frustrated.

“I guess it could have been expected. I, as well as others I suspect, keep forgetting that you are really a teenager, just one with more responsabilities and obligations than an adult. Responsabilities you should not yet have.”

She bites her lip again, and he suspects she does not like hearing this. But he carries on:

“So I am going to tell you what to do, as I would with a child. I have had enough of the infantile behaviour you and your brother show towards your mother, and no one saying anything about it, afraid to hurt your feelings. You are going to spend a day with her, from breakfast all the way to saying goodnight, and you are going to be pleasant towards her, and listen to what she has to say!”

All Elrond’s anger and frustration about the situation of his consort and her children is coming out, and he is unable to stop it, even when he sees a shadow falling over Emma’s face when he speaks.

“And you will do it the day of the ball, to which you will invite her.”

“The—the day of the ball?” she asks uncertain.

“Yes, the day of the ball. Would that be problematic for you, doing what I ask on that day? Or do you just not want to invite her to the ball?” he answers sarcastically.

She bows her head deeper. “It will be no problem at all, of course, my lord. And she has already been invited to the ball, though he has not sent an answer yet.”

“Then you have your answer now: she will be coming and you will make sure she has a splendid day. After that, the matter is closed.”

She bows her head to him.

“Go on then, you look like you need some sleep.”

Emma gets up and quickly leaves Elrond’s wing, only to see Melo waiting for her outside of the wing.

**”What are you doing here?” ** she asks him softly.

**”I want to know what he is making you do.” **

**”It is none of your business, and not very decent to ask. **”

**”Tell me.” **

**”He is making me spend a day with our mother.” **

**”That is an asshole thing to do! **”

Emma sighs. **”I have had enough for the day, Melo. Go do something usefull and tell Jeron that I want to start training at 6.30 tomorrow and that he has to arrange a private training pit to get me back into shape.” **

**”I will. Now get some rest, namad, you look like you need it. **”

She nods and walks over to her rooms, desperate to just fall into her bed and leave all her problems and worries behind for a few hours of undisturbed sleep. But fortune is not on her side as Thorin is waiting in their chambers for her, wanting to discuss some things about the ball.

“Do whatever you think is best, Thorin, but cancel all activities on the day of the ball.”

“What? Why?”

“I have other obligations that day.”

“What could be more important?’

“Something I can not cancel or postpone.”

“I see. I will arrange it. Would you prefer to discuss the rest tomorrow?’

“I would, if you don’t mind. I am really tired and I have to get up early tomorrow.”

He smiles and picks her up, his hands under he ass and her legs wrapped around him. “Let me show you to the bedroom then, my lady.”

She puts her arms around his neck and kisses him as he walks them to the bedroom. There he lays her on the bed and lies on top of her, passionately kissing her while running his hands over her body, his relief over not losing her clear in his passion.


	35. Brother

**“Fight through it, Emma! You know you can do better so stop waisting my time and put some effort in it!”**

Thorin is watching his wife getting worked to pieces by her trainer for the last two hours, standing in the shadows of the gallery in the private training pit so he is not seen. He knows she has been running for an hour before they started boxing, and he himself would drop dead after such a training, but for some reason Emma does not give up. He wonders what it is that has made her so frustrated that she has started training so rigourlesly again, and that makes her accept Jeron yelling at her.

“Do you think we should stop him?”

Thorin is a bit startled by Elrond, whom has walked on to the gallery without him hearing it.

“If she wants to stop, she will.”

“She is almost crying!”

“Yes, I know.”

“Why does she do this?”

“My bet is on on something or someone frustrating her tremendously. And if I had to guess, I would say it was you.”

“For once I will agree with you, though I do not think that what I have asked her is so difficult.”

Thorin crooks his eyebrow but says nothing.

“I have asked her to spend the day with her mother.”

“And would that day be the day of her ball?”

“How do you know?!”

Thorin shrugs his shoulders. “Because I have to cancel quite a number of Emma’s obligations that day.”

“Is there something special about that day? Eliana already wrote me to get confirmation that the meeting between Emma and her is actually then.”

Thorin frowns. “You do not know?”

“Know what?”

“That that is my sister’s day, and that she is now training way too hard probably because you took it away from her.” Melo says, also stepping onto the gallery.

“Do not give your opinion about what Elrond has decided!” Thorin hisses

“Why is it Emma’s day?” Elrond interjects. “And what did I take away from her?”

“Nothing.” Thorin gruffs, but he is not heard as Melo explains:

“The day of the four month ball is traditionally the day in which queens are prepared to take up their formal role as ruler, because the ball signifies, besides the start of the time that a pregnancy announcement may be expected, that her husband is satisfied with her as a wife. Other women will pamper her all day, taking care of her, bringing her favorite foods, and gifts will be sent to her throughout the day. In short: it is all about her that day. But you made it all about the woman that left her, great going!”

Before Elrond can reply, Melo already walks out, swiftly walking down the stairs and into the training pit. Thorin just shrugs his shoulders when Elrond looks at him questionning and turns his attention back to the training.

**”Enough, Jeron. I will take over. **”

Emma and Jeron both look up at Melo, and Jeron hands the training bag to Melo.

**”I think we’ll spar, thank you. **”

Jeron puts the bag in a corner and leaves the pit to go take a shower.

Melo puts on a pair of gloves and stands opposite to his panting sister, handing her a bottle of water that she gulps down, clumsily holding it between her gloved hands.

**”So namad, working of your frustrations about ball-day being taken away from you? **”

**”Who cares about ball-day! I can have a day like that any day of my life.”** She shrugs and she throws a punch at him, which he can only just avoid.

**”About having to meet Eliana then?”**

She throws another punch, now hitting him on the cheekbone.

**”I don’t really care about that, it is only a day. Elrond was lenient in what he asked of me.” **

**”Then what? **”

**”Why do I need to be frustrated about anything? I am just getting back into shape again! I have not trained for like 6 weeks.**”

Melo now puts some effort into the training, and although they are evenly matched with regards to technique, and don’t differ much in strength, he is less tired. He manages to get through her defence, punching her, but carefull to avoid her face. After a while, she gives up and sits down in the sand of the pit.

**”Enough, Melo. I think I am going riding for a bit. **”

He pulls her up. **”Not untill you tell me what you are so frustrated about. “**

He sees tears welling up in her eyes, but then she throws one of her gloves at her head. **”Go annoy someone else with your meddling! **”

**”What is it, namad? “** he asks softly.

She clenches her jaw, fighting back her tears. **”There is nothing, I just needed to train. But I’m done now.” **

Melo watches her leave, and then glances up at the gallery angrily, Thorin and Elrond looking back questionning.

But he does not say anything and also leaves the room.

Emma does not leave her chambers for the rest of the day, and only to train in the two days after, and her handmaidens do not let anyone in, saying she is not receiving visitors. But then Balin goes to her chambers, and he is not so easily deterred, and just walks in, past Jalila.

“Emma, I am here to get your final approval on the seating arrangements for your ball.”

He takes a seat in the sitting room, and a moment later she enters.

“Show me the plan then.”

He hands her the charts and she sits down in one of the chairs, studying it.

“I think you made a mistake.”

“Thorin told me where to put the main guests.” Balin says carefully.

She nods. “Thank you, I will take it up with him.”

They both get up and leave her chambers, Balin following her as she walks to the dining hall.

“He is not there; he is with lord Elrond.” Balin say as he sees where she is heading.

And after a moment of hesitation, she changes direction and goes to her father’s wing, where a servant announces them.

“Emma, good that you are here, we have seen very little of you in the last days!” Elrond says while he gets up and pulls a chair out for her at the table where he, his sons and Thorin are having lunch.

“My apologies, I have been very busy. As a matter of fact, I am only here with a short question for my husband.” Emma says stiffly

She turns to Thorin. “There seems to be a problem with the seating chart. Do you have a moment to discuss it?”

“It is not up for discussion.”

>”You have put my brother away from the rest of the family and put her and her husband at the family table!”<

“Unless you want Melo to take your father’s seat at our table, nothing will change.”

Her face freezes. “I see. Please excuse me.” She says with a small nod, and she leaves Elrond’s chambers again.

“What was that about, and why should Melo take my place?” Elrond asks.

“I had to make some concessions regarding the seating at the ball to keep my cousin Dain, whom is still very unhappy about the vote, happy. So I had to put Jessa and Durer at the table where my sister, my nephews and your family will also be sitting, and seat Melo somewhere else.”

“And why would he take my place then?”

“Because you will be sitting next to Emma, being her nearest male relative besides me. Did you not tell him, Balin?” Thorin turns to his advisor.

“We had a meeting planned for later today.” Balin says with a nod

“I see. Well, I have to leave anyway, so perhaps you two can meet now.”

Thorin gets up and exits the room, leaving Balin with Elrond and his sons, and walking back to his chambers where he finds Emma in the dining room, having a light lunch.

“I am sorry about the seating.”

She looks up and shrugs. “It’s fine.”

“I had to make a concession to Dain. He was quite upset about the way his daughter in law was treated and my reaction to it.”

“Like I said: it’s fine.”

“Really?”

“Sure.” She says, but not convincingly, and turns back to her lunch.

“Why don’t you tell me what is bothering you so much that you don’t even care about the seating.”

She looks up again. “Why would anything be wrong?”

He stand behind her and kisses her head. “You seem—unhappy.”

She shrugs. “It’s nothing. And don’t you have to get ready for your sister’s arrival?”

“Bugger!” Thorin almost runs out of their chambers in an attempt to not miss Dis’ arrival, while Emma finishes her lunch and then takes the seating chart to Melo, followed by Mina.

**“He has put you on another table, nadad.”** She says when she walks into his sitting room.

He looks up to her and smiles, putting his papers down. **“I was already informed of that. Balin must have thought it a bad idea to surprise us with it at the ball.”**

**“And you don’t care? You’re not upset?”**

He pats on the sofa. **“Come sit with me.”**

When she does, he looks at her for a moment, and then says: **“You have to understand, namad, that it is all politics. Don’t let it get to you; you have been sulking for days over some stupid ball-day and a seating arrangement, let it go.”**

**“I told you I don’t care about that stupid day!”**

**“Then tell me what’s wrong and what I can do to fix it.”**

She pulls her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. **“There is nothing you can do.”**

**“I will be leaving two days after the ball, should I take you with me?”** he tentatively asks.

She shakes her head. **“It had nothing to do with Thorin.”**

**“Do you not trust me anymore, namad?”**

Emma looks at him again, tears welling up in her eyes. **“He does not like me.”** She whispers

**“Who?”** Melo asks, but Emma already started sobbing, so he pulls her close to his chest and holds her for a while. When she calms down, he strokes her hair and asks her again who doesn’t like her.

**“Elrond. He said that he was more disappointed in me than he has ever been in his other children, and that they would never do what I did. He said I was childish and that I should never have so much responsability.”**

**“He said what?!” ** Melo roars, sitting back and looking at his sister’s face. She looks so sad, so vulnerable, tears streaming over her pretty face. How could anyone say such things to her, let alone her father?!

He jumps up and stumps out of his chambers, ignoring his sister’s pleads for him to not meddle, and goes to find Elrond, whom is easily found in his wing where he is still talking to his sons and Balin. He does not wait to be announced, but just barges in, pointing a finger that is trembling with anger at Elrond, ignoring everyone else in the room .

“You! Once Emma has done what you want and met with that whore of a wife of yours and the ball has ended, you will leave her alone and never come back! Because if you do, I will personally make sure of your swift departure to the afterlife!” He bellowes with a face contorted in anger and eyes as dark as tarpits. After that, he turns around and leaves again, leaving everyone in the room staring at his back with wide eyes and open mouths. On his way out, he nearly bumps into Thorin and Dis, whom are looking for Emma there, as they did not find her in her chambers, but he only mubles angrily under his breath.

“And now you have met the biggest part of Emma’s family.” Thorin says dryly to his sister, whom is looking puzzled from him to the gobsmacked elves and back.

“Any idea what this may be about?” Elrond finally asks Thorin.

“None whatsoever. But ask Emma’s handmaidens, perhaps you are in luck and they have heard what set him off. They have been helpfull in the past.”

Elrond nods and leaves the room, too upset to remember to introduce himself properly to Dis. But his sons do, inviting Dis and Thorin to join them for tea, and informing after her travels.

After Melo had left, Emma did not feel like walking through the corridors where everyone might see her teared face, so she stays in his rooms a bit, sending Mina away when her brother returns.

This leaves her own rooms empty, apart from the handmaidens, which is quite convenient for Elrond.

“I need you to tell me what lord Melo and his sister were talking about not too long ago.” He says to Jalila, whom is standing in the sitting room, looking at Elrond a bit fearfull.

“Perhaps you weren’t, but one of you was.”

“Even if that was the case, my lord, I would not feel comfortable with speaking about her highness’ personal conversations. Perhaps you could ask her yourself.”

“His highness has asked my to tell you he sent me.”

Jalila actually starts blushing a bit now, and she looks at Mina. After Elrond raises his eyebrow, showing his impatience, she says something to Mina, whom supposedly tells her the whole story as she speaks for quite some time.

“There was a part about seating arrangements and ball-day, but they did not really seem to care about it.” Jalila says after Mina had stopped talking.

“I see. And was there something else?”

Jalila fidgets with her dress, obviously feeling uncomfortable. “It seemed her highness was upset by something you had said, something about children.”

“And what would that be?”

“Well, eeeh, you—she seemed to believe you do not like her and prefer your other children because you are disappointed in her and find her childish.” She whispers

Elrond turns pale, but remembers to thank the handmaidens before leaving leaving Emma’s rooms. He goes back to his own chambers and sits in his study for a bit, thinking of what to do. Then, he gets up and returns to Emma’s chambers, hoping she is there.

“Yes?” Jalila says

“I am here to see her highness.”

“Her highness is not receiving any visitors now. I shall inform her that you came.”

“I am afraid that I must insist. It is a rather urgent matter.”

Jalila hesistates, afraid to turn Elrond away, and calls for Melo.

**”He says he needs to speak to Emma urgently. **”

Melo looks who it is. **”He can not come in. He will only upset her.” ** He says coldly and walks back to the sitting room.

“Her highness can not receive you now, please come back later.” She says in an apologetic tone.

Elrond looks at her, trying to decide if it would indeed be better to come back later. But then he just takes a step forward and walks past Jalila. “I will just wait here for her.” He says, and he also walks to the sitting room, taking a seat opposite to Melo.

“You were told you could not come in!” Melo hisses furiously at Elrond. “And I told you to leave her alone!” His face has turned bright red in anger, a vein throbbing in his temple.

“What is it with you and Emma, that you always feel the need to protect her? I mean, I understand she is your sister, but I have never seen such an overprotective brother.” Elrond says calmly.

“What it is?! I will tell you what it is you unsufferable fairy! After you and that cowardly bitch decided it was better to just leave your child with my father, he took all his anger out on her, degrading her, always making her feel less than everyone else, putting her down and humiliating her! And besides from me, no one did anything about it, so perhaps you can understand that I don’t need someone else thinking her less than his other children around her!”

WIth every word Melo speaks, forgetting in his anger that Emma does not want this subject spoken about, the volume of his voice rises and Elrond turns paler and paler under the words being yelled at him. But when they hear a door opening, both men jerk their head toward the antechamber, seeing Thorin and Dis walk in.

“Do screaming arguements always occur whenever you walk into a room or is that just today?” Dis asks her brother sarcastically, but she stops talking when she sees her brother’s face turn to ice.

Looking at Elrond and Melo, he clenches his jaw, trying to remain composed. “Dis, why don’t you show lord Elrond and lord Melo around Erebor. I do not believe they had a tour yet.” He says through his gritted teeth.

Both Melo and Elrond hesitate, but get up when Dis beckons them urgently to follow her, feeling Thorin’s angry glares on them.

When they have left, Thorin walks into the bedroom, finding his wife lying on their bed, rudely awoken by Melo’s screaming. He lies next to her and pulls the blankets over them, taking her hand in his.

“I love you more than anything in this world.” He whispers.

She looks at him surprised, but says the same back to him.

“No, you will always love Melo more than me, but it does not matter.”

She smiles at him. “I do not love Melo more, I’m just—more forgiving towards him.”

He also smiles. “Do you not think this could be the same for your father; that he is just more forgiving towards his other children or expects more of you?”

Her face hardens. “I do not know of what you speak.”

“I think we both know you do.”

She turns a bit red and pulls her hand back. “You are being quite rude.”

He takes back her hand, holding it firmer now. “You do so much so well, it gives people high expectations. So they are more easily disappointed when something does not go so well. That does not mean he doesn’t love you or like you.”

She looks at him for a moment, a hint of vulnerability in her eyes, but then shrugs her shoulders. “It does not matter and you know it should not be spoken of.”

He glances down, knowing she is right and that he should never have brought up the subject. “I apologize, it was unworthy of me.”

She crooks an eyebrow and huffs in amusement.

“If you do not wish to speak about it, then let me distract you from your thoughts. Tell me what you will be wearing at the ball.” He says with a slightly humorous undertone in his voice.

But then he sees her eyes widen. “Oh no, oh no oh no oh no!”


	36. Dresses

Thorin laughs for about five minutes before he says: “You actually forgot to get your dress?!”

Emma hits him with a pillow. “Not funny Thorin! What am I going to do now?!” she laments.

“I’ll just get a small army of seemstresses in here, don’t worry.” He comforts her, though still laughing.

Emma pushes her husband out of the bed. “Get on with in then, we need every minute, it will be miracle if the dress is ready in time!”

Thorin gets up from the floor and bows to her. “Anything for her highness.” And then he walks out of the bedroom, still laughing when he calls for Emma’s handmaidens.

A quarter hour later five seemstresses come into Emma’s rooms, followed by her handmaidens and Thorin, whom quickly leaves again. She is put on a stool and the measuring starts, Emma telling the seemstresses what she wants, helped with suggestions from her handmaidens. Next, they are being measured, and everything is sketched out for their dresses.

Two hours later, measurements are taken and all decisions have been made, and Emma walks around the rooms looking for Thorin, finding him in his study. He looks up from his work as he hears her entering.

“Did everything go as you wanted, azyungal?” He asks.

“Yes. But now I need a favor from you.”

“Anything.”

“I need some very specific pieces of jewelry, and I was wondering if I could ask some of the jewelers and gemcutters to make them for me. And if I can have some of your gemstones.” She says hesitantly, biting her lip.

He frowns. “Why do you even ask me? You know it is also yours.”

“Because it will probably be a lot.”

He grins. “I like the sound of ‘a lot’, so I can finally show everyone that I do take care of my wife. You have not given me that possibility yet.”

“Allow me to make up for it then.” She says with a big smile.

 

That evening, when Emma comes back from her meeting with the jewelry forgers and gemcutters, she finds a letter and Kili waiting in her chambers. Because Kili is talking to one of her handmaidens, she opens the letter first, frowning when she reads it. However, she has no opportunity to think about it, as Kili is already standing next to her, having seen her enter.

“Eeeehm, Emma, I was wondering if, eeeh, you would do me a favor?”

Emma has to do her very best not to start laughing at the normally self-assured Kili whom is now standing in front of her, biting his lip and scoffing his feet.

“Sure, what is it.”

“Well, eeeh, I was hoping that, eeh, you would invite someone to the ball for me.”

“It is in four days, don’t you think it is a little too late?”

“Eeeeh…”

“Come on, Kili, just tell me!”

“She is coming anyway but in a formal function so she would normally not attend as a guest.” He blurts out.

“I see. And with whom would she come?”

“King Thranduil.” Kili admits in a very soft voice, so Emma has to lean in to hear him.

“And you would like to have a certain captain of his guard be your guest at the ball, sitting next to you?” Emma asks.

“How do you know?!”

“Everyone knows. Well perhaps not everyone, but some.”

“Does Thorin know?”

“I think he will when you invite Tauriel as your guest.” Emma says dryly.

“But would you? Invite her for me, I mean.”

Emma thinks. It would be quite satisfying to see the look on Legolas’ face and the one of Thorin’s face, not having forgotten how Legolas voted in favor of casting her brother out and how Thorin put Jessa and Durer at a table near hers.

“Sure. Shall I go to Thranduil now?”

“That would be great!” Kili says with a big smile.

“You go and tell Balin to put her next to you then, I will arrange it.”

So Emma walks to the guest rooms Thranduil and his son are in, followed by two of her guards, and is announced by one of the servants.

“Your highness, how great to see you. To what do I owe the pleasure?’ Thranduil says with a slight bow of his head, and an amused undertone in his voice.

“King Thranduil. I am here to ask a favor of you.” She replies evenly amused.

“A favor? Please come and have a seat then.”

Emma follows Thranduil to the sitting room where Legolas already is. He gets up and also slightly bows. “You highness.”

“Prince Legolas.” Emma acknowledges him coldly.

“So, what may we do for you?” Thranduil quickly asks.

“I was hoping you would not find it too forward of me if I invited one of your guards to my ball.” Emma says with a smile.

“One of my guards? What do you want with him?”

“It would be a her, and she would not be my personal guest per se.”

Legolas’ hand twitches when he hears it, but he says nothing.

“I see.” Thranduil says after a look on his son. “I do not think I would have any objections.”

“That is very kind of you, king Thranduil.” Emma says with a small nod, and she wants to get up.

“Your highness, now that you are here, perhaps I may use the opportunity to ask about some trade agreement?”

“Of course.” She says, and sits back down.

“You see, I am trying to agree with your brother, or half-brother to be more precise, about the purchase of some of your excellent wines, but he seems to take his time for it.”

“I can imagine that is quite straining. If all the details are arranged between you and him, I will be happy to sign of on it at your earliest convenience.”

“Marvelous. I happen to have the papers here.”

Thranduil gets up and takes a small stack of papers out of a leather binder and hands them to Emma. She quickly reads through them, finding everything in order, and signs with a quill Thranduil gives her. Then she hands the papers to one of her guards with the instructions to bring them to Melo.

“Thank you, your highness. I am quite looking forward to savouring some of that excellent vintage of yours.”

“Thank you, king Thranduil. Now if you would excuse me, I have some other matters to attend to.”

All three of them get up, exchanging small nods, and then Emma walks our of Thranduil’s chambers. She can’t help but grin a little bit, thinking of how their whole conversation positively felt one big play, acted out only because Legolas was present. It is not that she wants him again, but she finds conversing with him even more interesting after their encounter in Rivendel. But as she approaches Elrond’s chambers, she pushes her thoughts away and enters, announced by one of the servants.

“Emma!” Arwen comes running out of her part of the wing and hugs her. “I’ve missed you!”

“I’m sorry, I was real busy.”

“Yes, I have heard you have taken over the crown from your brother. And everything with the ball of course! Tell me, what are we going to do on ball-day?”

“I was just here to speak to Elrond about that, so I think I will be able to give you an answer to that shortly.”

“He is in his study, but I have to warn you: he is quite grumpy. Are you sure you want to talk to him now?”

“Yes. This matter can not wait.”

“At your own risk then!” Arwen laughs, and she walks over to Elrond’s study, softly knocking on the door.

“Yes?” A very annoyed Elrond answers, and Arwen and Emma put their head around the door.

“I was wondering if you have a moment?” Emma asks softly

“Emma!” Elrond says, his face lighting up. “Come in.”

“I will leave you to it then, but come to my rooms when you are ready!” Arwen says while closing the door behind Emma.

“I’m really happy to see you, I wanted to talk to you about something. Come, have a seat.”

“I’m really sorry, but I don’t have a lot of time. I just wanted to ask you about a letter Eliana has sent me. She writes that she won’t be able to join me for breakfast, lunch or dinner, nor any other time on the date I proposed, but instead asks me to meet with her the day after the ball. Did you not tell her of what you asked me?”

“I did, but I think she does not want you to miss any of your activities on ball-day. Had I known the importance of the day, I would have proposed another day.”

“It does not matter, all activities are already cancelled!”

“Honestly, I don’t think they are. Arwen got her invitation yesterday and seems to be under the impression that everything will go as initially planned.”

Emma frowns and squints her eyes. “That is very strange…Anyway, I will write to Eliana and tell her no activities will be in the way of us meeting and cancel the rest.” She nods and wants to walk out of Elrond’s study.

“Emma, wait! I—Please don’t cancel anything, you should have your day!”

“It would be very dishonorable of me to not comply to what you have asked, especially for something so insignificant as ball-day.” She says stiffly.

Elrond sighs. “Melo has told me what that day means, and so has your—Eliana, and Eliana has asked me to move your meeting to another day. So I told Thorin not to move anything.” He admits.

“I see.” Emma says emotionless.

“You do not seem happy with it.” Elrond says confused, thinking Emma would be happy with it.

“It’s not that, it’s just all a bit---odd, I guess. But please know any day would suit me.” She says stiffly, and wants to leave again.

“Are we not going to speak about it?” Elrond asks softly.

“About what?”

“About what you told your brother and what he told me this morning?”

Emma’s face turns to stone. “I am sure there is nothing to talk about.” And then she swiftly walks out, not giving Elrond the chance to say something else, to Arwen’s rooms.

“So tell me everything about ball-day, from what I gather it is quite an important day!”

“I guess so. We’ll start with breakfast in the morning, then bathing and massages, then a lunch with all the noble women of Erebor, and then we’ll start to get ready for the ball. And dinner also somewhere. And there will be presents sent throughout the day, although they will be mostly for me.” Emma sums up.

“So you will be getting presents all day long?!” Arwen says sarcastically.

‘They are presents, but meant as a way to strengthen ties between Erebor and the giver.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know, diamonds and gold and that sort of stuff. Balin will keep a list of everything that is given, and Erebor will gift something similar back when the giver has a four month ball or something comparable.”

“And do you have something special you would like from me?”

“No! Do not bring a gift!” Emma says warningly.

“But then I’ll be the only one not bringing you anything!”

“No one is coming to bring their gift personally, it is all just being send to my chambers, I look at it, it is written on a list and a thank you note will be send, that’s it.”

“But then why is this day so important?”

Emma thinks for a moment. “Traditionally the ball is being held so signify the start of the period in which the subjects may expect a royal pregnancy announcement, and the ball day is held to pamper the queen one day, put her in a good mood to get pregnant or something. But the ball is also held to show everyone that the king is happy with the queen and sees her fit to rule in his stead or absence, and he gifts his wife with the ball and the ball-day to thank her for her that. Or something like that, I don’t know exactly, it has become somewhat of a tradition or something. I just know it is a lot of work that gets everyone totally stressed and it costs a fortune.”

“Really?”

“Really. I think it is a lot more expensive than the wedding, and that is even without my clothing and jewelry. By the way, did you get a dress already?”

“I thought I would go to Dale tomorrow or something.”

Emma grins. “Dale is completely sold out, you won’t find a suitable dress there. Go to the seemstresses and mention you’re—mention me. They will make you what you like. But don’t choose Durin blue.”

“Why not, do you think blue would not look nice on me?”

Emma blushes. “It is kind of Thorin’s and therewith my color, and it would be perceived as rude if anyone but myself and my handmaidens wear it during the ball.” She admits.

Arwen laughs as she sees Emma being ashamed of her privileges. “Any other colours I am not supposed to wear?”

“No, the rest is just fine.” Emma mumbles.

They talk about the ball a little more, and then Emma leaves, consumed by obligations and responsabilities the whole next day. The first chance she has to catch her breath even a little bit is at dinner time. But as she still has some papers to go through, she takes it in her room, reading them while she eats. But just as she wants to put the first bite in her mouth, there is a knock on the door. Her handmaidens and Thorin are eating in the dining hall, so she opens the door herself and sees Elrond standing in the doorway.

“Elrond? Why are you here, is something wrong?”

“Can I not visit you without there being something wrong?”

“Eeeh, sure you can. But I am a little busy; I have some papers I need to go through.”

“I don’t mind waiting.” Elrond says with a smile, and he steps into the antechamber, not detterred by Emma’s evasiveness.

This seems to have the effect he was hoping for, as she clears her papers away, plasters a smile on her face and asks him what she can do for him.

“Come take a walk with me.”

“A walk? I, eeeeh…”

“Please..”

She wants nothing more than to turn him down, tell him she has work to do and send him away, as she knows what he wants. But his face is a mixture of fatherly authority and hopefullness, and she can not refuse him. She gets her fur coat from her dressing room and follows him to the higher levels of the mountain. There, she sees that he is going to the hidden entrance…

“Does Thorin know you walk here?”

“I do not know, am I not supposed to be here?” Elrond asks with worry in his voice.

“It is normally an off limits area for non-royals.”

“Then I shall not come here anymore after tonight.” He says with a smile, and pulls open the hidden door.

When she steps outside, Emma sees a blanket, pillows and some refreshments lying on the high plateau. Elrond leads her to them and asks her to take a seat, him sitting next to her, lying back on the big pile of pillows. For a long while he says nothing, and Emma starts to wonder if she should say anything, but then he points to the star filled sky

“That’s Valacirca, seven stars set there by Varda as a sign of doom for Melkor and a sign of hope for the elves. And the sign of Durin of course. And that’s Menelmacar, or the swordsman of the sky, set there by Varda to enlighten the awakening of the elves. “

Her eyes follow his pointing arm, looking at the vastness above her. She loses herself in thoughts about the insignificance compared to the everlasting starlight, but is pulled back to the here and now by Elrond.

“And that, that star represented you to your mother and me.” He says in a voice heavy with sadness.

She looks up and sees a bright star, shining lonely at the firmament of the dark winter sky. She wants to say something, but changes her mind at the last moment and just jerks her head a bit.

“You are different from your siblings.” Elrond says softly. “They took a long time to grow up, and even now, they come to me with the slightest problem they have, needing me to fix it. But not you. You face your problems, and those of other people, by yourself. Showing only the outcome to others, never the process. It takes some—readjusting on my part to get used to this. But you do not disappoint me, never. You are just more mature in your actions. But I find myself overlooking the fact that emotionally, you need the same as your siblings, if not more.”

Emma’s face is as emotionless as the cold mountainstone they are sitting on when Elrond softly talks to her. She knows that if she reacts to what he says, she will have to talk about her feelings, and she absolutely doesn’t want to. Not now, not with him.

“I am sorry for my harsh words, selde. I should not have said them.”

“You merely expressed your feelings, an apology is not needed.” She says while still looking at the sky.

He pulls her closer towards him, so she is lying him next to him, his arm around her shoulders, and starts stroking her hair.

“I can not give you what you want.” She says coldly.

“And what is it you think I want from you?”

“You want me to share my feelings and thoughts with you. You think that if I do that, you can somehow change me into the person you want me to be.”

He winces. “I do not want to change you! I just—I just want you to be happy.”

She sits up again, looking at him with a deep frown. “And who says I am not happy?! “

“Tell me the truth, selde, are you happy?”

“Yes.” She says, a hardness is her voice, as if she is trying to convince herself.

“Then why is there never a light in your eyes? Why do I rarely really hear you laugh?”

“I already told you, I am not your atonement, Elrond! You do not get to leave me and then come here, supposedly try to fix me and ease your guilt!”

His face contorts when he hears her words, knowing deep inside they are true. His head falls to his chest, out of shame, regret and grief.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry about everything…” He whispers, tears rolling down his cheeks.

Emma stiffens, not knowing what to do for a moment. But then she lies down again, her head on his chest

“Let it go.” She whispers. “I did.”

He looks at her, his daughter, his youngest child, that is so strong and yet so vulnerable. He knows so little about her, there is so little she is willing to share with him, and it saddens him.

“I brought you here tonight to make you feel better, to share with you, but it seems that you are the one making me feel better.”

She snickers. “At least now I can pretend to know something about the stars.”

“Will you share with me? Not about your past, but about your future, your hopes and dreams?”

She looks up at him with amusement on her face. “My hopes and dreams? Has your consort not told you that my only purpose in life is to either help strengthen agreements or produce heirs?”

“Yes” He muses. “She has told me about the place women hold in dwarven society. But do you not have a single dream or wish for the future?”

She smiles. “I am well on my way to accomplishing most of them already. But I would actually like to have a child. And for the rest, I would like to have some peace and quiet for once. I can not remember the last time I was not burdened with a problem of some sorts.”

“Aaaah, heavy is the head that wears the crown.” He says with a smile.

“That’s funny, I remember saying that to Thorin once.”

“And will you be having a child soon?”

Her face darkens. “It is not even certain I am able to have one, so who knows. But perhaps I am lucky enough to have it soon.”

“May the valar bless your wish, selde.”

She points at the sky. “Tell me more about the stars, ada.”

He smiles, knowing that she calls him ada out of her own will. She does not need a favor from him this time, she says it because she feels it. He points out several constellations to her, showing their shape and explaining their meaning. Then he remains quiet for some time, thinking if this is the right time to share this information with her, to burden her with this choice. But he decides to do it anyway.

“You know, you can live long enough to see these stars change, to watch them burn up and to witness new ones coming.” He is carefull with the words he chooses, afraid to scare her off.

“I know.”

He looks up at her in surprise. “How do you know?”

“Everyone knows elves are immortal. I figuered I would at least live longer than other dwarves.”

“And?”

“I already said this to Elladan when we faced those orcs together: who wants to live forever?”

“That you are immortal does not mean you have to stay here forever; you could go to the undying lands.”

“Apples and oranges. Living is living. And I do not want to do it forever.”

“I have felt the light of the Eldar in you, it may be that you don’t have a choice.”

“We always have a choice, it may just be that we don’t like the options we can choose between.”

“You do not have to choose now. I just want you to know you have a choice.”

“Thank you.” She hesitates for a moment, and Elrond noticing her needing to say something, patiently waits. “I need to ask you something else.”

“Anything, selde.”

“My name does not sound elvish. Do I have another name?”

Once again she surprises him. “Why do you ask? Why now?”

“At the ceremony tomorrow, Thorin and I share our secret names with eachother, and I would be neglectfull if it turns out I have another name he knows nothing about.”

“Secret names?”

“Dwarves have a name that is for all the world to know, but we also have a name that only Mahal, our parents and our One know.”

“So Emma is not your only name?”

She shakes her head.

“Your mother and I chose a name for you that fits in both elven and dwarven culture, so you do not have another elven name.”

“That’s a relief. I think Thorin would be quite surprised if I told him more than one name.”

“Will you tell me?”

She hesitates. “It is supposed to be a secret, mentioned only three times in a lifetime: when the parents tell their child, at the four month ceremony and at the funeral.”

“I am your father.”

She nods and thinks for a moment. “You do understand that—that you can never tell anyone.”

He nods. “I know.”

She inhales deeply. “It is---it is.” She sighs and tries again, Elrond all the while waiting patiently. “It is Alakhkidi.”

“Does it mean anything?”

“Off course it means something!”

“Can I ask what it means?”

She bites her lip and frowns. “It is difficult to explain, as it is more—not exactly like a feeling, but more of a—like a feeling one gives to someone else. But it would be something like giving light to someone. Not a candle or something, but more give light in spirit; brighten someone.”

“And Melo’s father gave you this name?”

She laughs outloud. “No, off course not! Melo gave it to me.”

“But I thought parents were supposed to….”

“Normally, yes. But he never made the effort so Melo did. If he ever took the effort, I think I would have ended up with something gruesome.”

‘So he did not even name you.” Elrond ascertains.

Emma sobers when Erond speaks the words outloud, confronted with the harsh truth.

“No, he did not.”

Instead of speaking words that would never be enough, that could never express the pain he feels for her, he hugs her tightly, trying to convey the love he has for her. She buries her head in his chest and lets him wrap her in his arms. After several minutes, she withdraws.

“Now stop making me sad and continue about the stars. I want to sound smart if I ever have the chance to talk to someone about constellations.”

He laughs wholehartedly and does as she asks, continueing on untill deep in the night.


	37. Ball day I

“Wake up, azyungal.”

Emma feels a soft tickle on her ear and hears the words whispered to her. She turns to her husband and nuzzles into his muscular chest. She wraps her arms around his waist and embraces him tightly.

“Let’s stay in bed a little more.”

When he wants to say something, she also wraps her legs around his thighs, so he can not go anywhere.

He draws in a large breath. “You make it difficult for me to start the day, ghivashel.”

“Come, sit up.” Emma pulls Thorin in a sitting position and straddles him. She reaches to her vanity and takes out a comb.

“Shall I braid your hair for you, amralime?” she asks.

His eyes widen, and he eagerly nods. She takes out his braids and divides his hair in sections. Then she slowly starts to pull the comb through it, shining up the dark waves. The soft pulls on his scalp make him groan softly and he leans his head back a little bit. When all his hair is combed, she takes two tresses on either side of his head, just above the ear and next to his temple, and starts braiding them in the square braids he always wears. When they are done to her satisfaction, she starts combing his beard. Since he retook Erebor and fulfilled his promiss to his people, he has started to let it grow again. She carefully pulls the comb through the course hair and rubs a little oil that she takes from the vanity in it. When it is combed, she gets up and gets a little box from her dresser. She sits in his lap again and starts braiding. But instead of the silver beads he usually wears in it, she puts in gold beads adorned with sapphires and jade she has had made for him.

By the time she is done, his hands have explored all of her body and he is panting heavily. “Amralime….” He breaths out.

His head is still tilted back, and she licks a small line along his neck and softly bites his earlobe. Then, she sits back a little bit and lifts his tunic over his head. She feels his throbbing member against his sex and stomach, and tilts her hips so she rubs against it. The added stimulation makes all of his patience disappear and he flips her over so she is lying on her back on the bed. He puts her legs over his shoulders and enters her in one smooth movement.

She gasps at the sudden deep intrusion and tilts her hips up, to let him know he can continue. Thorin is sitting on his knees, leaning on his heels with his hands on her hips. He tries to restrain himself, but her braiding his hair aroused him greatly, so he slams in and out of her, grunting with every movement. With the pad of his thumb he circles her clit, making her moan out and whisper his name. When he feels he is nearing his climax he leans over her and kisses her passionately, and they reach their peak together.

He stays in her arms for several minutes, pecking small kisses over her face and neck and whispering endearments in her ear. She smiles and giggles at his sweet nothings and holds him tight.

“I have something for you.” She whispers in his ear.

“What?” he asks with a big smile.

“A gift, but also a question.”

His smile broadens, and she gets up from the bed and gets another box from her dresser. She bites her lip when she hands it to him, and he senses she is somehow nervous about it, tensed. He opens it and when he sees what it is, his mouth falls open in surprise.

“Do you—do you want to do this?”

She nods, not sure is he is positively or negatively surprised.

“Do you know how much this means to me, azyungal? You have no idea how happy this makes me!”

He kisses her again, cupping her face in his rough hands. But they are disturbed by a discrete knock on the door.

**”Emma, breakfast will be served in 10 minutes.”**

**”Thank you, Mina, I will be right out.”** Emma answers.

“I can’t wait to see you tonight.” Thorin murmers in her ear. “I can’t wait to see what you look like when you are finally completely mine.”

Emma is taken back by his words, frowning her brows when she thinks of the meaning behind them. “Completely yours? Thorin, do you not feel like I am yours?”

He sits up, a bit taken back that she calls him on his words. “I do, I do feel like you are mine. I just sometimes question whether you see me as yours, and whether you consider yourself mine.”

His words actually hurt her, and she softly says: “Have I not been loyal? Have I not been willing? Have I not just now showed you that I am yours?”

“You have been all those things, and more. But you are so unwilling to share your thoughts, your feelings.”

She inhales deeply and then breaths out slowly. “If you want, I will tell you everything. Everything that you want to know.”

He jerks his head towards her and looks into her eyes. “Do you mean it?”

“If that makes you feel better, I mean it.” she breaks the solemn mood between them by giving him a small smile and a wink. “Just get me really drunk tonight and I will tell you all my secrets.

He smiles back. “I had other things planned for tonight, but I think we can do both.”

Emma gets up from the bed. “You plan all you like, but first: relaxation, boring female court meeting, more relaxation, presents and to top it all off: alcohol.”

“Do not take the lunch with the noble ladies lightly. They will be your court, and they can give you more influence.”

“Sure, influence over when to hold a ball and whom is cheating on whom.”

“They will ask you for favours on behalf of their husbands. Favors that need repaying. I will ask Dis to guide you through this, she knows how it works.”

“And you think I don’t?!”

“Not as well as she does. You have to remember that the noble ladies are quite influential here.”

“I’ll keep it in mind. But now, I have an appointment to get a massage.” She actually smiles quite content at that last bit, and puts on some simple leggings and a tunic and walks out of the bedroom and into the dining room.


	38. Ball day II

In the dining room, her handmaidens, Arwen and Dis are already seated, smiling expectantly at Emma.

“Sister in law, how great to finally properly meet you. I have sincerely regretted our busy schedules that have kept us from meeting over last few days.” Dis says while she gets up and gives Emma a hug.

“So am I, princess Dis. But here we are now.”

“Please, let us not bother with formalities.”

Emma gives her the slightest bow. “As you wish.”

“Emma, will Eliana be joining us? I heard father saying something about it.” Arwen asks.

“I believe she will come for lunch.” Emma says, not giving away her feelings about this subject. She had felt obligated to invite Eliana, as Elrond had initially asked her to meet with Eliana today, but Eliana had proposed another day. That does not make her happy about it though, but she knows she has to show her gratitude to her father.

The servants come in and place carefully arranged breakfast platters at the table and they all take as they please.

“Emma, you should really eat some more, you are far too skinny. How can you ever bear a child if you do not have enough reserves?” Dis says, looking at the few pieces of fruit on Emma’s plate.

Emma looks up, annoyed that Dis feels it is her place to make remarks about a private matter such as that. However, she does not want to start the day with quarreling, least of all with her sister in law whom Thorin seems to adore.

“No matter how much or how little I eat, my figure never changes, so now I just eat the amount I feel comfortable with. And I have never really been a morning person.”

“Just wait untill after your first pregnancy, you will see how your body changes then.” Dis says with a little wink. “By the way, can we expect an announcement anytime soon?”

Emma’s cheeks turn a little pink at Dis’ last question, but she manages to answer nonetheless. “I think we will be waiting a couple of years, untill everyting has calmed down a bit and I have grown into my duties.”

Dis nods. “That is a sound plan. Take some time to enjoy eachother. Now, what is the plan for today?”

Emma turns to Jalila, whom has made all the plans and arrangement for today. “First, we’ll be having some massages and skin treatments. Then we’ll have lunch with the noble women of Erebor and then hair and make-up. And then the ball of course.”

Arwen claps her hands. “let us not linger then, but get to it!” She says with a wide smile.

They all walk to Emma’s large bathroom, Dis shooing her brother out of his bedroom in the process. The sunken bath, which is more like a pool, offers enough space for the six of them to sit comfortably, so they get undressed and go in.

“Emma, why do you keep your camisole and underpants on?” Dis asks, looking at Emma with a raised eyebrow.

Emma looks startled, not used to someone calling her out like that. “Eeeehm, I feel more comfortable like this.”

Before Dis can say anything else the masseuses walk in. “Your highness, princess, ladies, we are here at your disposal.” The oldest one says with a bow.

They all get out of the water an lie on the special table the younger masseuses have set up.

“Your highness, would you like to take your top off?” The masseuse asks Emma.

“No, thank you, I am fine like this. And please do not go near my lower back, I have an injury.”

Dis and Arwen look at eachother, but they both shrug, not knowing what Emma may have.

“Certainly, your highness. Please let me know if anything feels uncomfortable.”

Emma nods and then lies her head on the table. For the next hour and a half, none of them says anything else, and except for the odd moan or groan out of pleasure and relaxation, the room is quiet. When the massages are done, they are wrapped in warm, scented towels and the masseuses start taking several glass pots and flasks out of their bags.

“What scent would you like, your highness?”

Emma slowly opens her eyes, unwilling to see the real world when she feels so completely relaxed in her warm cocoon. “Whatever cream is best for my skin.”

“I have already studied your skin a couple of days ago during dinner, they all match your skin, so you can choose any scent you like, your highness.”

Emma smiles, pleasantly surprised by the thouroughness of her masseuse. “Do you have jasmin?”

“Certainly, your highness.”

The masseuse takes several creams and lotions and starts cleaning, rubbing, scrubbing and massaging Emma’s face and chest. The warmth, relaxation and soothing smells cause Emma to slowly fall into a slumber, and only when the masseuse stops working on her face and starts brushing her hair she wakes up.

“All done your highness. We will be waiting here untill your lunch is finished and we’ll do your hair and make-up.”

“I think I will be needing some make-up for lunch. It is a quite important event.”

“Please have a look, your highness, your skin looks impeccable.”

She holds a handmirror up for Emma, and to her surpise her skin does indeed look great.”You are right, this will more than suffice for lunch.”

“Thank you, your highness. Shall I help you get dressed?”

Emma nods and Jalila, who has also slowly been waking up, gets up from the massagetable and walks with Emma and the masseuse to Emma’s dressing room where she hands the masseuse the dress Emma will wear for lunch. It is a thight fitting model in Durin blue, with long sleeves and a small train at the back. The masseuse help Emma step into it and then starts to close the many small buttons at the back. When it is done and they walk back into the bedroom, Emma sees the other have also gotten dressed and are now waiting for her to go to the dining room, where they will have lunch.

When they walk in, all the noble women are already seated and patiently waiting for Emma, Dis, Arwen and Emma’s handmaidens to arrive. As Emma enters, they all get up and bow, and Emma sees that Jessa also came. Due to her husband having a title she is allowed to come, but Emma is astonished at the audacity of the woman. She does not show it however, and just smiles at all present. But she does whisper to Jalila that she must not introduce Jessa.

When Emma has taken a seat, Jessa stands next to her and starts introducing the women. As is custom at a formal occasion, they are not introduced with their first name, but with the name of their husband.

“Your highness, may I present Lady Dwalin.”

“A pleasure, lady Dwalin.” Emma replies, adressing the woman so she may now speak to the queen.

“Lady Nori.”

“Good to meet you, Lady Nori.”

“Lady Balin.”

“Thank you for coming, Lady Balin.”

At this point, Jalila would normally introduce Jessa, but she delibarately moves on.

“Lady Ori.”

“A pleasure, lady Ori.”

Jessa looks rather offended, but remains quiet, while Dis looks at Emma questioning. But Emma does not return the look but instead focusses on the next lady to be introduced as if nothing were wrong.

“Lady Bombur.”

“Good of you to come, Lady Bombur.”

“Lady Bofur.”

“Nice to meet you, Lady Bofur.”

“Lady Bifur.”

“A pleasure, Lady Bifur.”

“lady Oin.”

“Good to see you, Lady Oin.”

“And Lady Gloin.”

“Thank you for coming, Lady Gloin.”

“Ladies, may I please introduce Lady Arwen, princess off Rivendel and Lady Dis, princess of Erebor.”

The ladies all bow to Arwen and Dis, and then Emma proceeds. She has noticed that Eliana has not arrived yet, but does not say anything about it.

“Ladies, I very much appreciate that you have taken time out of your no doubt busy schedules to meet today. I would very much like it if you would share your worries, ideas and opinions regarding all matters that concern the queen’s court with me. In the future, I will take pressing matters up myself. For less pressing matters, you are always welcome to talk to my assistant, Jalila.”

Lady Dwalin, a rather stout blonde, gets up. “We have been establishing several foundations for different causes, and we were hoping that you will patron one or more of them. Your approval would really benefit our cause, your highness.”

“Certainly, Lady Dwalin. Shall we go through your list together after all matters are discussed?”

“Thank you, your highness.”

Several other ladies bring up small matters, mostly about expanding upper class social life in Erebor by holding balls and such and Emma answers them all politely, handing some matters over to Jalila, promissing to speak to Thorin about other things and taking up a few herself. Then, she sees Jessa whispering to Lady Balin, whom adresses her after.

“Your highness, we are worried about literacy amongst the children in the lowest classes. It seems they do not all attend school.”

“Lady Balin, if you do not have any original thoughts of your own to share at this meeting, you should either listen and learn from the contributions of others or you should consider that perhaps meetings such as these are not for you.” Emma says sharply.

Lady Balin turns bright red and starts stuttering. “I—I merely wanted—“

“I know what you merely tried to do, Lady Balin. But please do remember that _I_ decide whom is part of my counsel, not any of you.”

“My apologies, your highness.” Lady Balin manages to utter, taken back by the queen’s prickly response.

“Now that we have that out of the way, shall we eat?” Emma suggest, and all agree.

“Lady Dwalin, please come sit next to me so we may discuss the causes you would like me to patron.”

The servants walk in with several trolleys full of plates and Lady Dwalin sits next to Emma.

“We have focussed mostly on causes that will profit the poor and undereducated, your highness. Under king Thror, a large part of them struggled to earn enough to eat and pay for their housing, and in some cases their children also had to work in the mines or on the markets so the family could survive.”

“I believe the king has raised wages to such a level that every family can live on the income the man brings in.”

“That is true your highness, and we are very thankfull to his highness for that. We do see however that their income is not sufficient to help their sons get married or pay for further education for their children. The future generations of that class will not be able to better themselves, and Erebor will not see progress.”

“Do you have a specific way you would like for me to aid you in this?”

Lady Dwalin blushes a bit. “We were actually hoping that you would donate a part of the gifts you will receive today to our causes.”

Emma purses her lips. “I can not do that, unfortunately. It would be disrespectfull if I gave presents away. I can help you though. Why don’t you organize a fundraiser ball, you may name me as patronness, and I promiss to double the amount you raise.”

“That is very generous of you, your highness. I apologize for not thinking of that myself.”

Emma wants to reply, but is interrupted by a servant.

“A gift has arrived that I believe you should take a look at now, your highness.”

Emma gets up and walks out of her chambers, followed by all her guests. When she walks into the corridor, she is very surprised to see a horse standing there. A horse so black that it is almost blue, with a size that is more than double Emma’s. She calmly approached the animal and reaches out to it’s nose. When it has sniffed her hand and remains calm, she slowly starts stroking it’s nose.

The horse is one of the famous breed of Far Harad. The hard desert people that live in the land so far south are known as killers for hire,spies and thieves, often employed by those of a darker inclination, and are therefore seen as untrustworthy and evil. But no one can deny that they breed the best horses in Middle Earth, even better than the horses of Rohan. Their horses obey their master, and only their master, after the tiniest of instructions, have a lot of stamina and outrun almost any other horse. Getting this horse here must have been a very complicated process, and very expensive at that.

Emma reaches for the ribbon attached to the neck of the beast and sees there is a little card attached. When she reads it, she starts to blush a little bit, as Thorin has wrote some very—intimate things. But it makes her smile.

“Has the Thorin sent you this?” Arwen asks breathlessly, knowing the qualities and price of the horse.

“He has.” Emma says with a big smile.

She does not only adore the horse, but also the timing with which Thorin has sent his exquisite gift. He must have known the lunch with the noble ladies was now, and he probably also knew Jessa would show up, and sending his gift now would make a statement.

Emma turns to the servant whom has brought the horse. “Thank you. Please take him to the stables and tell the stablemaster to take good care of him and start with ordering a new saddle.”

The servant bows and carefully leads the giant horse out of the royal corridor.

When everyone returns to the dining room, whispering about the gift Emma has just received, Dis whispers to Emma:

“My brother must appreciate you very much, sending you a gift like that.”

Emma just smiles.

“But make no mistake, all ladies here present, and about every other woman in Erebor, want what you have. So if you want to stay in my brother’s favor, best appreciate him just as much if not more.”

Emma wants to reply with some snarl, as she feels Dis is going way too far now, but she refrains from doing so and just nods. Let Dis believe I am as stupid and moldable as the rest of these sheep, I will prevail on my own, she thinks.

The rest of the lunch goes well, the ladies exchanging pleasantries and some gossip, familiarising Emma with the who-is-who of the noble women and their friends in Erebor. Emma notices that Dis has sat down next to Jessa, and the two are now whispering together, sometimes glancing at her. She should have expected the two of them knowing eachother; Dis used to spend much more time at Erebor before Emma came and she went back to Ered Luin.

When everyone has finished, and the ladies are taking their leave, Eliana is announced.

“Lady Eliana, good of you to join us. I am afraid we have just finished lunch, but I can have the servants bring you a plate.”

“Thank you your highness, but that won’t be necessary. I was held up on the road and had lunch at an inn.”

“Then please come and join us in my chambers. We will have our hair and make-up done for tonight.”

The noble ladies take their leave and the others follow Emma to her bedchambers, where the masseuses have set up everything to do hair and make-up. Emma sits down, Eliana and Arwen next to her. Emma’s thoughts are swirling behind the marble mask she shows everyone. She has just spoken to her mother. A woman she believed to be death for 63 years. A woman for whoms death she had always blamed herself. A woman that has knowingly left her behind to be raised by a terrible and abusive man. But she has to do this, she has to give the payment set for her by Elrond.

“Your highness?”

“Excuse, what did you say?” In her thoughts she had not heard the masseuse talk to her.

What would you like to do with your hair?”

“I have designed it with Jalila, she will be able to explain it to you.”

The masseuse turns to Jalila, whom starts explaining what to do. A knock on the door announces a servant, accompanied by Balin.

“Emma, I have come with a sample of the gifts delivered for you.”

Several servants walk into the room, pushing trolleys laden with presents. Heavy necklaces adorned with huge gems, gold statues, precious fabrics, strings of pearls, artworks and chests of gold are all presented to Emma, whom looks at it while the masseuse brushes out her hair. But then a book catches her eye. A servants hands it to her, and when she opens it, she sees it is a very early print of a book full of children’s stories, just like the ones Melo used to read to her.

“Balin, who has sent this?”

“King Bard of Dale. I believe it is one of the very few remaining copies.”Balin looks at it. “I used to have one like it when I was young.” He says with a smile.

“So did I. Please make sure there is an opportunity for me to thank Bard personally tonight and put the book in my study.”

“I will.”

And with that, the servants roll the trolleys out of Emma’s rooms again and Balin follows them, surprised that it is the book that interested Emma the most. Unlike most other dwarven she is not pulled by the lures of gold and riches. It is a good counterbalance to Thorin’s vulnerability, he ponders.

When everyone’s hair and make-up is done, Emma’s hair with some small braids adorned with the diamonds Thorin gifted her in Rivendel and a headband that sparkles with diamonds and pearls, the seemstresses come in with a rack full of dresses for the handmaidens and a very large and high box, followed by servants and Balin with yet more trolleys full of gifts. They show them all again, and after a third round of present-showing, Emma can turn her attention to her dress.

Four of them dress Emma’s handmaidens while the headseemstress and her assistant attend to Emma. They open the box and lift the dress out in a joint effort. It is made of Durin blue silk, with a thight, structured bodess that has a very low, dipping clevage. The skirt flares out from the hips and is made out of countless dyed feathers. In the back there is a long and wide train, also covered in feathers. Every feather has been stitched on by hand, and as the whole skirt is covered, not a single spot of fabric is visible, it is a true miracle that the dress is ready and looking as beautiful as it does.

When the seemstresses have helped Emma into the dress and have closed it with dozens of invisible hooks, she sits down again and her make-up is done. Then, Jalila puts a diamond bracelet and a diamond necklace that runs all the way down her back and into her clevage like a sparkling waterfall. Finally, Emma slips into flat suede shoes that are matching in colour and have gold adornment on the toes.

When she stands up and looks in the mirror at herself she can’t help but smile. The vision she had for her clothing and accessories has been worked out perfectly by the seemstresses and jewelry smiths. She turns to Jalila and tells her to give the seemstresses and smiths 50 gold pieces each, as a thank and sign of appreciation for their hard work.

Eliana ia also staring at her daughter, unnoticed by others. She had been very surprised to be invited for today, and thouroughly aggravated that she could not make it in time, as the appointment that Elrond told Emma to make is for tomorrow. She had guessed that this invitation was an extra thank you to Elrond, for services rendered to the crown, sort of speak. Although she has lived with the elves for a long time, she has not forgotten the dwarven way. Dwarves will never let a favour go unpaid, as being in somone’s debt is something they loathe. But it is heartwarming to be able to see her daughter get ready for such a big occasion, although she had rather seen her leave Thorin and perhaps find happiness in Rivendel. She fears that Thorin will turn out to be as bad as her first husband after Emma gives him his first heir, and she does not wish that on her daughter. But she will be quiet about this, as she does not want to disturb her daughters happiness, especially not now she has the opportunity to be a small part of it.

When there is a knock on the door and Melo is announced, all ladies look up. It is very unusual for a man that is not part of the organisation of the day to come by.

“Ladies, you all look very pretty.”He starts. “But look at my dear namad. You look like you might make the stars jealous.”

Emma smiles at him, a genuine smile that shows how happy she feels.

“Ladies, I do believe it is time for you to go to the great hall, and I would like a word with my sister.”

Everyone leaves the room, some of them quickly making some last minute changes in their hair and make-up.

**”Namad, it makes me very happy to see you in such good spirits. Are you happy?”

**”I think I really am, nadad. Is that strange? Seeing how everything has been the last couple of months.”**

**”It does not matter if it is strange or not, the only thing that matters is that you feel it.”**

**”Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?”**

**”No, I actually have something for you.”**

**”As long as it not not made of something precious, I will be glad to get it from you. You have no idea how much gifts I have gotten today.”**

**”it is made of something precious, but I think it’s true value lies in the memories you have of it.”**

**”You make me very curious, what is it?!”**

Melo hands her a little box, and she impatiently opens it.

**”That can not be!”**

**”But it is.”**

**”Your father took it from me and threw it away.”**

**”He took it, but he didn’t throw it away. And I took it from him. Shall I put it in your hair?”**

She nods eagerly and Melo carefully places the diamond hairpin that Thorin gifted her a long time ago in her hair. When she looks at it in the mirror, a tear rolls over her cheek.

**”Does it not bring you good memories, namad? Does it not please you?”**

**”It pleases me, nadad, it really does. Thank you.”**

**”It is I that should thank you. Now come and let me escort you to the great hall. Thorin is waiting for you very impatiently.”**

She takes his arm and together they walk through the empty corridors and over the deserted overpasses, relishing in the few moments of tranquility.


	39. The ball

When Emma and Melo enter the great hall, everyone gauges at her for a moment, but then start to applaude. They make their way to the front where a large marble table is placed, in front of which Thorin is standing. Upon seeing his wife, a rare smile appears on his face. When he saw Dis, Arwen, Eliana and her handmaidens enter the hall without Emma he had thought for a moment something was wrong. But he saw smiles on their faces and could not see Melo anywhere, so he guessed her brother had gone to bring her here.

And now she is walking towards him, with a very joyous look in her eyes. The way she is brought to him strongly reminds him of their wedding, but where she had been unhappy and unwilling then, he is sure she feels the opposite now. They both take a seat at the heavily embellished chairs placed at the table. Balin stands on the other side of the table, clears his throat so everyone knows he is about to speak, and starts.

“His highness, Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror, king under the mountain, ruler of Erebor, holder of the Arkenstone, bearer of the Oakenshield, has invited you all tonight to make it publically known that his queen, Emma, daughter of Elrond, son of Elwing, queen of Erebor, queen of the Grey Hills and Baroness of Mithranin, has proven to be a most satisfactory wife.”

He pauses a bit, trying to catch a breath after summing up family lines and titles so loudly, and he notices that a soft murmur has risen after he named Emma’s family line. He had feared this, but Thorin had insisted that he named it nonetheless. He disregards the soft noise and continues:

“The king and queen will share in private now.”

A set of wooden panels covered in leaf gold is placed behind and next to Emma and Thorin so they are hidden from view. He turns to her and caresses her cheek.

“You look like a dream.” He whispers

“Perhaps it is.”

“i could not help notice the pin in you hair. It looks very familiar.”

A broad smile appears on her face. “You should recognize it, as you are the one that originally gifted it to me.”

“Why did you not wear it before?”

“My—Melo’s father took it from me and told me he threw it away. But it turns out that Melo found it. He gave it to me just now.”

Thorin softly kisses her, feeling as if he is walking on clouds. Then he moves to her ear.

“Will you tell me, azyungal. Will you let me know what name Mahal knows you by?” he whispers, his voice only a little more than a breath.

She turns her lips to his ear, hesitating for a moment. Speaking her true name outloud is difficult, as it is for any dwarf, and last night’s practice did not make it easier. It feels like peeling away all layers of clothing and skin, leaving nothing but vulnerable bareness.

“It is Alakhkidi.”

He smiles. “A name that truely befits you, azyungal. You have brought light when all I knew is darkness. You have lifted me from a dark whole to a brightness that warms my soul.”

She blushes at his compliments, bathing in his undivided attention. “Will you share yours with me then?” She asks, her lips touching his cheek as she speaks.

“It is—it is Nardel.” He says, his voice trembling a bit and barely audible.

“Then it befits you more than my name does me. You have always cared for everyone around you and more, and I hope you know that I am not only eternally gratefull for your care, but hope to care for you when you need me.”

He hand strokes over the rough hairs on his cheek, and he leans his head against her touch. He kisses her softly one more time, and then says:

“Are you sure you wish to share more with me?”

“I want to share everything with you.”

He smiles again and then scrapes his throat a a sign for the servants to take away the panels and Balin to take his place on the other side of the table again.

“The king and queen will now share their blood as a sign of their everlasting bond.”

Balin brings out a chaliss and the knife Emma had gifted Thorin that morning. He holds the cup under Thorin’s hand and gives Emma the knife. She takes Thorin’s left hand and brings the knife to it, glancing at his face when she does. But he just smiles at her, releaving her anxiousness a bit. She carefully slides the knife over his palm, making a shallow cut. When it is done, and a few drops of blood emerge from the cut, she hands him the knife and holds up her own hand. He also maks a cut, perhaps even more carefull than she did. When they both have blood on the palm of their left hand, they press their hands together, symbolically mixing their blood.

All present applaude, the non-dwarves a bit more hesitantly than the dwarves as they don’t understand the meaning of the ceremony, but Thorin and Emma can only look at their hands pressed together. When Balin scrapes his throat, they tear their gaze away and look at him again.

“May I please invite you to join us for dinner. The servants will show you your seats.” He says.

Thorin softly cleans Emma’s hand of the blood with a soft cotton napkin, and she does the same for him. Then he leads her to her seat and sits next to her, taking her hand under the table. Everyone, and the dwarves especially, is looking at him expactantly, hoping he will make an announcement, but he just starts to eat.

When everyone is enjoying ther dinner, Elrond leans closer to Emma.

“Balin named my lineage.”

She nods. “He did.”

“Did you ask him to?”

“I think Thorin did.”

“Does this mean you are officially part of my line then?”

Emma looks at Thorin, whom had been listening to their hushed conversation. He shakes his head.

“No. I got the news from Dain today. She will never be written into your line. They could not overlook the fact that you are not a dwarf, so she was written into my line. But like this, everyone knows. It was the most official I could make it.”

Elrond had looked a bit hurt when he heard the news and there was a small pang of regret in his chest. Had she grown up in Rivendel, she would have been crowned officially and would have been a part of the royal family. But he knows that Thorin has done more than he had to, naming him as Emma’s father. He had noticed the murmurs; some positively surpised and others negatively, and he knows he should be thankfull.

“I thank you, Thorin. And know, Emma, that you are entitled to add yet another title to your name: lady of Rivendel.”

“No gratitude is in order.” Thorin gruffs, turning his attention back to his food, not comfortable with the subject nor the attention his actions are getting, while Emma smiles and keeps playing with her food. Thorin looks at Emma picking at her food but not really eating it.

“Is there something wrong with the food, azyungal? Do you not like it? I thought it was your favourite.”

She blushes a bit. “It is great, thank you.”

“Then why are you not eating? This is the third course you barely touched.”

Elrond is now also looking at her, evenly curious as to why she is not enjoying her braised veal and artichoke heart salad.

“It is not really possible to eat in this dress.” She whispers, a bit embarrased by her own vanity.

Both men can’t help but burst into a harty laughter and Thorin shakes his head. “I do not think I will ever understand the choice between eating or wearing a dress, but I do have to admit that you look great, ghivashel.”

“Thank you.” She says a bit indignantly, but also amused.

“Why would a dress not allow you to eat?” Elrond asks. He does not understand women’s clothing well, but he has noticed that the fashion in Erebor is quite different from the fashion in Rivendel. Here, the ladies wear heavy, decorated and structured dresses, where the dresses in Rivendel tend to be more—flowy, or something. He had always liked her more in the clothing she wore in Rivendel, but has to admit she does look regal in the clothing she wears here.

“It is too thight and too heavy.”

“Heavy?”

“it is around 20 kilo.”

“20---what? You are telling me that you have to carry along 20 kilo’s of dress?!” Thorin chokes out. “That is like an armour!”

“Why don’t the two of you just say that my dress is nice and leave it at that!”

“You are right. Your dress is almost as exquisite as you, mizimeluh.”

Elrond nods in agreement, and then look at Thorin. “What does mizemelin mean? And azungal? I have noticed you keep calling Emma that? Is it some title?”

Thorin turns bright red, while Emma turns her face to the side and snickers. “Not really a title” Thorin admits while he stares at his plate. “More of an---endearment.”

Now it is time for Elrond to blush and they all remain quiet for a while, untill Jalila walks over to Emma and stands behind her.

**”One of the noble ladies has not paid heed to the dress code.”**

**”How?”**

**”Durin blue.”**

Emma looks around, but can’t see it untill Jalila nods her head to the family table. There, Jessa is sitting, wearing a bright white top and a wide, Durin blue, skirt. Emma squints her eyes and clenches her fists. Thorin has noticed the change in his wife and follows her gaze. He closes his eyes and sighs deeply as he sees his former consort. Everyone in Erebor knows not to wear the color of the king at royal gatherings and parties, so Jessa wearing it anyway is a clear sign of disrespect.

**”Should I send her away to get changed?”** Jalila asks.

**”No, I don’t want a scene. Let us handle this in a more old fashioned style. She will not be invited to the queen’s court again and every noble woman that consorts with her should be subtly made aware of the consequences of her choices. And make sure the seemstresses, jewelmakers and shoemakers here and in Dale know that if they want to work for the royals, they do not work for her.”**

Jalila grins, knowing Jessa faces complete social isolation within her class. **”As you wish, your highness.”**

Emma also smiles and turns back to playing with her food. Thorin watches Jalila walk away tensely, hoping to scene will be made, and he sighs in relief when Jalila just sits down again and does not approach Jessa.

“How did your first counsel meeting went this afternoon? I have heard some things.”

“Really? What kind of things?”

“Balin’s wife was a bit shaken up by the verbal lashing you gave her. And both Dain and Durer were a bit unhappy that Jessa was not introduced.”

“Dain.” Emma huffs with disdain dripping from her voice.

“Dain _is_ my cousin, ghivashel.”

“Cousin.” She scuffs. “More like distant relative six times removed.”

Thorin crooks an eyebrow at the huffing and puffing of his wife. “Still a dwarf king, whoms daughter in law is not too happy about the reception she is getting here so far.”

“Poor little thing, having to go nag at her husband and father in law because I do not treat her like she is made of glass. And now I totally forgot to roll out the the red carpet for her! Perhaps I should offer her my chair then to make up for it!” Emma says sarcastically.

Elrond has to try very hard to hold back a snicker. In Rivendel, a thing like this would never happen. Firstly, a man would not take a consort and certainly not someone a future wife migth meet. And secondly, if he did and the consort and the wife ever met, the consort would have the decency to act polite. But Thorin does not find it very funny.

“Your counsel can be quite powerfull, even influence my position. And my sister and Jessa are good friends, so tread carefully. “

“I know very well how a queen’s counsel works, thank you, and I will rule it as I see fit. And what your sister does is her business.”

“If she is to advice and assist you, it would be rather uncomfortable for her to be torn between the two of you.”

“I have made Jalila my assistant. She has worked very well for me as my handmaiden and I am sure she will be an even more excellent advisor.”

“You made Jalila---what about Dis then?”

“What about Dis?”

“She is my sister, she should be your advisor!”

“As you said: she is friends with Jessa, so I can not be sure of her loyalty. And besides, she is only familiar with Erebor, not with my kingdom. Jalila is.”

Thorin swallows thickly. “You are queen, so you decide. But please keep me out of it.”

“I will. Anything positive to mention?”

“Yes. Dwalin’s wife was quite taken with you.”

“Dwalin has a wife?” Elrond asks, quite surprised.

Thorin looks up. “Why wouldn’t he have a wife?”

“Well..eeeeh…he has never mentioned her.”

“Most of the nobles have wives, I believe only Dori has not married and Fili and Kili off course, but they do not walk around announcing it.”

“Then why have I never seen a noble lady walking around?”

“Because they stay mostly in the women’s quarters during the day. They have no reason to come to this part of the mountain. Have you not noticed there are very few people here beside royals, royal guests, advisors and servants?”

Now that Elrond thinks about it, he sees Thorin is right. He has never seen a commoner here, nor merchants or any of the sorts. And very, very few women. “So why do you not go to the women’s quarters, Emma?”

She looks at him, a little shocked, and says sarcastically: “Thanks, ada. Do you think I should stay in hidden away rooms all day or something?”

Elrond wants to answer, but Thorin interjects. “Emma has more freedoms because she is queen and because I would know I would find half the noble ladies strangled to death if I force Emma to sit in a room with them all day.”

Elrond smiles at the mental image, but can’t help but feel frustrated over the lack of rights dwarven women have. “I see. Another cultural difference, I believe.”

Emma is spared an evening of frustration due to comparing cultures when Melo approaches the table where Thorin, Emma and Elrond are sitting with a small nod of his head. She smiles at him, but then sees his grave expression.

**”What is it nadad?”**

**”I have just been informed that grandfather is coming. He will be here within half an hour.”**

Emma gaze shoots from Elrond to Eliana. **”O no. O no, o no, o no! Does he know?”**

Melo nods sourly. **”Father somehow informed him, and appearantly we can euphemistically say that he is not happy.”**

**”I don’t think I would be happy if I found out that my daughter was not dead but very much alive and eloped with an elf-lord.”**

“What?” Thorin asks, his tone a bit irritated as he knows from Emma’s face that trouble is coming.

“Our grandfather is coming. He wil be here within half an hour.”

Elrond’s head jerks up and his look jumps to Eliana. “Your grandfather or Melo’s?”

“Ours.”

“And let me guess: he doesn’t know his daughter is not dead?” Thorin says.

“O he knows. That would be the problem.” Melo replies.

“We’ll go to the main entrance to greet him. Perhaps we can persuade him to hold off his anger untill half of Middle Earth is not here to witness.” Emma says

“Please remember that we are to open the ball in an hour.” Thorin says, residing to the fact that an occasion without some kind of family drama seems to be impossible.

“ _You_ are going to dance? With me?” Emma asks him with open mouth and big eyes in astonishment.

“No, I thought it would be nice to have a dance with Dwalin! Of course I am dancing with you.” He replies sarcastically.

“You don’t dance. You didn’t even dance on our wedding!”

“Neither did you.”

“Yeah well, that was because---o never mind, off course we’ll be back within the hour.”

 

Melo walks around the table and offers his hand to his sister to help her up. Together they walk to the entrance to wait for their grandfather.

“You don’t dance?” Elrond asks Thorin.

“No.”

“But tonight you will?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Perhaps you have noticed that the past four months have been very difficult on Emma. I think she deserves a night in which she gets everything she wants. But don’t try to get out of explaining what the hell you are going to do about Eliana’s father!”

“Yes, her father. I have absolutely no idea.”

“You had better come up with something, as you have been living with his daughter for the past 63 years without marrying her.”

“She is a 132 years old, I don’t think he will be making objections to that. It rather pales next to the fact that he had believed her death for 63 years and she turns out to be alive.”

Thorin laughs loudly. “I would very much like to be a witness to the conversation you are going to have! For a father, nothing pales to soiling his daughter’s reputation. And soiled you have it!”

“You think so?”

“I am the mightiest of dwarf kings, with a good reputation and a treasure that is so large that it can not be spend by the coming 6 generations. One would consider me as a good match to any woman. Yet I was not allowed to see Emma’s face or be with her alone in private untill we got married. Dwarves take the reputation of their wives and daughters seriously.”

Elrond turns a little bit white and he looks at Eliana. “I should inform her.”

“One of Emma’s handmaidens will do that. I do not want a scene, everyone is watching you.”

Elrond looks around and sees there are indeed many looks pointed at him, so he nods.

 

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

**”Well, well. Emma and Melo, here to greet me at the entrance while the feast has already begun. I had not expected to get such a welcome from the queen and prince.”**

>”Grandfather.”< they say in unison while bowing their head.

>”And a bow as well. Tell me, are the two of you here because you have missed me or because you are afraid I am going to make a scene?”<

>”Because we missed you of course!”< Emma says with a big smile.

>”Then you wouldn’t mind if I have a hearty talk with my daughter and her fairy lover, I presume?”< Burdur asks sacastically.

>”Please don’t, grandfather. Please don’t make a scene!”< Emma pleads in her sweetest voice. >”Say all you like tomorrow, but please stay civil tonight!”< She knows there would be no point in ordering him to do something, he would pay no heed to that. But pleading with him might work, and she wants her evening to go along undisturbed, so she is willing to do so.

>”I should have you two wee dwarflings over my knee for the mess you have made! Inviting the elf to stay here, giving the crown to a woman. A bloody mess, that’s what it is!”<

Burdur is a hardened Iron Hill dwarf whom, despite of his age, has an impressive physique and a short fuse. And right now, he is looking at his grandson with anger in his green eyes. Melo knows that is not a good position to be in.

>”We are sorry to have disappointed you, grandfather. But could we perhaps discuss that tomorrow? There are a lot of important people here tonight, and it would be rather embarrasing to have our private problems discussed in front of them.”<

>”You are right about that. But we are going ot have a discussion about why the two of you have not informed me about your mother, but I had to hear it from your father.Not tonight however. Tonight I shall see how the hospitality of Erebor is.”<

 

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

“Crisis averted.” Emma sighs as she takes her seat next to Thorin again while Burdur is being seated at the table where Dain is also sitting.

Elrond is staring at Burdur, whom has not once even glanced in the direction of Elrond or Eliana, but instead butted heads with Dain and is now sharing roaring laughters with the other Iron Hill dwarfs.

“He looks a lot like Dain.” Elrond remarks.

“He is a lot like Dain. You’ll see tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

“He has invited himself for a stay at Erebor and will want to speak to your wife tomorrow. And you, I presume.”

“Well, let us not worry about the inevitable. I have a present for you.”

“I told you not to!”

“It was promissed to you before this ball. But Thorin will have to agree to it.”

Emma frowns. “What is it then?”

Thorin, having heard what Elrond said, tears away his gaze from Burdur and Dain and looks at Elrond with a crooked eyebrow.

“I promissed you to teach you swordfighting, but found myself unable to do so. There is someone else who can fight like me, perhaps even better than me, and is willing to teach you. You could go to him for two weeks and he’ll teach you the basics, and after that I will take over.”

“He?” Thorin asks with a dark voice.

“Yes. He would be Thranduil.”

“Thranduil?! Traitor, ally abandoning, tree crawling Thranduil with offspring I would not wish upon my worst enemy?!”

“Some would describe him like that. But you can not deny he has great skills with a sword.”

Thorin clenches his jaw and grumbles and mumbles, Emma looking at him with big eyes. In the end he caves. “Fine. But you will escort her yourself. And I will send one of my nephews to come with you.”

Emma smiles and gives Thorin a small kiss on his cheek.

“Of course I shall.”

“Now can we just have a civilised conversation that is not about unwanted guests or woodland sproutes?”

“We certainly can. Tell me, who has designed the decoration? It is really breathtaking!”

The great hall was decorated with Durin blue and gold banners, complementing the shiny gold floor. Large bouqets of red paeonees complete the color scheme and are placed on the tables. The normally plain wooden chairs and tables are replaced by intricately carved and decorated with leaf gold ones.

“I would like to take credit for it, but I believe Jalila set the color scheme and told the organisers what to do with the decoration.”

“It is really beautiful, thank you Kurdu.”

Thorin beams as he hears his wife give him yet another endearment. He does not really know this side of her, normally she is less outspoken about her feelings for him. He looks around and sees that Balin is making his way to the marble table again. This time he doesn’t stand behind it, but climbs on it. He softly nudges Emma and jerks his head towards Balin. Upon seeing the normally very composed dwarf climbing a table, she can’t help but uttering muffled snickers.

“Thorin, you have finally driven him mad!”

“Either that, or he was so relieved we got through the ceremony without something unexpected happening that he drowned himself in a cask of ale to celebrate.”

They both try to stiffle their laughs and look at Balin like it is the most normal thing in the world to invite guests to the dancefloor while standing a bit unsteady on a marble ceremonial table that has been used since Durin the fourth.

But all do as Balin asks and Thorin gets up and offers Emma his hand to invite her to dance. She also gets up and places her hand in his. When they enter the dancefloor, everyone makes way and the music starts.

Despite normally refusing to dance, Thorin is an excellent dancer. He gracefully leads Emma over the dancefloor, and when the the guests also join in the music speeds up.

From the ceiling, hundrerds of thousands gold colored feathers are falling down, and Thorin picks Emma up. She looks down into his eyes as he swirls them around, feathers falling around them. And when she softly kisses him, she feels like she can never be more happy and her world can never be prettier than in this moment.

After dancing a little more, Thorin and Emma take their seats in the thrones overlooking the dancefloor and watch their guests for a while. Then, Emma gets up and walks over to Bard.

“King Bard, I would like to personally thank you for the gift you have sent me.”

“Your highness, the pleasure is all mine.”

“I remember my brother reading those stories to me when I was little, it brought back a lot of nice memories.”

“I have the same sentiments when reading those stories again. I am glad it pleases you. However, I do have something else for you.”

“King Bard?”

“It is up to you whether to accept it or not. But one given, it can not be given back.”

“I have to admit I am very curious now.”

“I was going through the city archives a couple of days ago, and found an old parchment with some scribbels on it. Do you know the verse with the prophecy of the king under the mountain returning?”

“Yes, about the silver fountains and the burning lake.”

“Very few know there is a second part to this poem, a part that I think refers to you.”

“And you are willing to give a view into my future, or spare me this view?”

“That is up to you.”

“It is a very generous offer, Bard. One could say it is priceless, as a glimpse into the future is not something that can be easily obtained. Why do you give me such a thing?”

“Are we not neighbours, Emma? Are we not friends? And do I not have something to make up to you?”

Emma sighs inwardly. Now he got to the point: he has realised that by voting against Melo, he backed the wrong horse. “Perhaps you are right. And seeing that you have told me about this poem, you would advice me to hear it.”

“I would want to know it.”

“Then tell me.”

He leans forward and whispers into her ear:

 

The lord of silver fountains,

The lord of carven stone,

The king beneath the mountain,

Shall come into his own.

 

And the bells shall ring in gladness

At the mountain kings return

But all shall fall in sadness

And the lake shall shine and burn.

 

The wife of silver fountains,

The wife of carven stone,

The queen beneath the mountain,

Shall come into her own.

 

Her three crowns shall cheer in gladness

At the mountain queen’s return

But she shall fall in sadness

When last songs must be sung.

 

And the bells shall ring in gladness

At the boys she will bring

But all shall fall in sadness

When the black gold comes up.

 

 

For a moment, she can not speak nor move. The poem holds too many clues she already knows to be correct for her not to believe it, but it also holds a painfull truth she had not wished to see just yet. But then she composes herself and gives Bard a bright smile.

“So the future will hold a lot for me. I thank you for this, king Bard.”

“I hope I have done the right thing by telling you this, queen Emma.”

“I think you have.” Emma bows her head to him and walks back to her throne.

 

“What was that about?” Thorin asks her once she is seated.

“Bard told me about the lesser known verses of the prophecy poem about you.”

“And?”

“Those seem to be about me.”

“And you are not happy with what you heard?”

“I am, it is just food for thought.”

“What did he tell you?”

“Shall we discuss it later?”

“I think we have a lot to discuss tonight, for example what my nephew is doing with that elf.”

“Let us not do this tonight. I have already been confronted with unwanted court members, uninvited guests, distressed relatives and a dress that is currently slowly cutting off my circulation. Please do not make me add an upset husband to that list.”

He chuckles. “Between the two of us, I think we can fix at least one of those problems.”

Emma playfully swats his thigh. “I hardly think is the time or the place.”

He gives her his very special, and not often seen, mischievous look. “I don’t know about that. No one can hear us, and a bit of forced patience enhances—let’s say the reward.”


	40. Sharing

When it is late enough for it to be decent to leave the party, Thorin and Emma hastily make their retreat to their rooms, her refusing her handmaidens to help her take off her dress and urging them to stay at the party.

Now, Emma is standing in the middle of their bedroom while Thorin stands behind her. He stares at her almost bare upper back and brings his hand to it to touch it, but stops himself when his finger is but a centimeter away from her soft skin.When he moves his hand a little upwards towards her neck, he sees the tiny hairs in her nape stand up and she arches her back the slightest bit. He moves his hand down again and opens the first tiny hook.

Inwardly he half-heartedly curses his wife for choosing dresses which are so difficult to open and to close. What had happened with the brocade dresses that could be opened with a simple tug on a lace. But he resignes to the fact that Emma is not one for such dresses. He probably would not like her as much as he does were she such a conformist to old-fashioned clothing morals. And her dresses give him a rather more interesting view than those old-fashioned curtain-like things do. So he couragously carries on, taking his time to study the new piece of skin he finds with every unclasped hook. He hears Emma’s breathing has become ragged, though he is not sure is that is caused by him or by her new found opportunities to breath now he is taking her dress off.

When he finally opens the last hook, he has to sit on his knees to do so, he finds out as Emma can not restrain herself anymore and turns around to him, only to find him kneeling on the floor with his head at such a hight that he may easily reach places she wants reached. He puts his hands on her perky buttcheeks and pulls her closer. His hands trail to the front of her thighs and he strokes the soft flesh, slowly coaxing her legs apart a bit. She is standing there, looking down om him with slightly parted lips and a wanton look in her eyes, and she wants nothing more than for him to pick her up and carry her to the bed. But he does no such thing. Instead, he starts stroking her clit through the thin fabric of her thong. He feels the small piece of fabric is already becoming moist, and suddely his clothes are starting to become uncomfortably restraining. She also sees it and she pulls him up. They share a lustfull, demanding kiss, each of them battling for dominance over te other. But then Emma slowly sinks to her knees, her hands running over his chest and abdomen as she does. She deftly starts pulling at the laces of his trousers. In the meantime, he is taking of his robe jacket and his tunic, leaving his upper body bare. When she has losened the laces, his erection springs free, pushing through his undergarments. She is not yet as adept at teasing as he is so she does not even attempt to do. Instead, she tugs at his undergarment untill they join his breeches, pooled at his feet, and starts stroking his balls and running the pad of her thumb over his throbbing head.

“Aaaaah.” He moans

This gives her the encouragement she needs and she slowly runs her tongue over his balls. Immediately she feels them thightening and she moves on to his shaft, again running her tongue over the sensitive flesh untill she reaches the top. She opens her mouth and takes him in as far as she can without gagging. When he looks down, his vision clouded by his lust, he sees her looking up at him, her full lips around his dick, her head bobbing up and down but a very innocent look in her eyes. He can not take any more and he pulls her head of his cock and almost drags her over to the bed. There, he places her on her hands and knees and sits behind her.

“Rest your head on the pillow.” He almost groans out.

She does as he requests, her head on the bed and her ass sticking into the air. He sits behind her and lowers his head and runs his tongue over her slit, evoking a lusty yelp from her. He repeats the motion several times, and she is driven to new hights by his warm and strong laps and the—raunchyness of her position. Her lust reaches an even higher peak when he insert his thick, rough thumb into her, his hand resting on her asscheeks, kneeding them. She can not help herself when she pushes her hips backwards, pushing into his thumb and tongue. He humms in delight over her wantoness and the vibrations bring her over the top and she comes with a load moan, that very slowly dies down while her orgasm keeps flowing over her likes waves crashing at a rock. Her legs can no longer keep her up, so when Thorin takes his hand off her ass and sits up, she slides down on the bed, lying on her belly while still enjoying the warmth in her sex.

Thorin takes a pillow and pulls her hips up, placing the pillow under her hips. He then sits between her legs, pushing them open a little bit. He takes his cock in his hand, running it up and down over her slit, evoking soft whimpers from Emma every time he runs over her clit.

“So wet for me, azyungal.”

“Don’t make me wait, Thorin.” She begs.

He buries himself to the hilt in one smooth movement and immediately sets a punishing pace, slamming into her and then pulling out so far that only his cockhead is still inside her. Emma relishes in the feeling of being utterly filled by him over and over again and it does not take long before she starts sighing his name, louder and louder as his trusts become more forcefull and erratic. They simultaneously cry out eachother’s name as they reach their peak, and Thorin collapses on top of her, panting heavily.

They lie like that for several minutes, both spent from the high peaks they have reached, Thorin nuzzles his nose into her hair and the nape of her neck, taking in her sweet scent.

“I forgot to tell you earlier, witht he ceremony and all, but thank you for you wonderfull present, Thorin.” She whispers to him.

In response, he only pulls her a little closer to him, pressing a kiss on her neck.

 

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

“Have you heard what Bard said to Emma, my lady?” Gandalf asks Galadriel.

They are sitting next to eachother on one of the benches that are placed along the walls of the great hall. The dancing and heavy drinking in which everyone seems to participate is not for them at the moment. Instead, they use the opportunity to discuss plans that have been made a long time ago and now have to be carried out, though ‘now’ is a relative defiition of time for those that live as long as Galadriel and Gandalf do.

“She did not seem too surprised or interested.”

“Hmmm, indeed she did not _seem_ to be.”

There is silence between them for a moment, but then Galadriel turns to Gandalf.

“I have to admit I do not know much of Dwarven customs. What is it that we witnessed today?”

“A union.”

“I believed we already saw that four months ago.”

“That was merely the carrying out of a contract, the fullfilment of an oath of iron and stone. Two kingdoms merged that day. Two souls merged today.”

“And that had to be done behind a screen?” Galadriel says mildly sarcastic.

“It was nothing as odd as what you are implying. Dwarves are known by different names in Middle Earth and by Mahal. It was the name given to them by Mahal they shared. A sign of trust in eachother.”

“And the blood?”

“That is more interesting. They bonded their souls, their wills. Pledging allegiance to eachother above all others. Not done often, even in a marriage for love.”

“That would make her unsuitable for our cause.”

“Not necessarily. They would just both have to be convinced the cause is just. And besides: who else is there? The willing have not the means while those with means are not willing.”

“The willing can be very persuasive, especially when backed by the right influencers.”

“We will have to remember where her loyalties lie. If we do that, I believe there to be no objections. And there is her brother of course. We must not forget the influence he has on her.”

“And where do her loyalties lie?”

“I believe that before all, Emma’s loyalties lie with herself.”

“Surely you forget her brother and husband; the bond as you say, she created today.”

“Important, the both of them, prioritised above all others. But I think her life and especially recent events have taught her to care for herself in the first place. I believe she does love Thorin, that he is her One and that she wants to be at his side, but the decisions you and Elrond made a long time ago have led to her always choose herself over others if it comes to it.”

“So she can not be trusted?”

“My dear Galadriel, whatever gave you that idea? I believe Emma to be very trustworty and honorable, if she had given her word for it.”

“The emphasis being on her giving her word?”

“Correct.”

 

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

“I am old, Emma.”

Emma and Thorin are lying next to eachother, her hand playing with his chesthair and him curling her hair around his fingers.

“Where is this suddenly coming from? I think you have known your age for quite some time now.”

“I know I told you I do not mind waiting with children for some years, but I find myself coming back on that statement.”

“I know.”

His hand stills and he looks at her inquisitive.

“Do you think I do not know what is in you heart, husband? “

“It is not that. “

She gazes down, breaking their eyecontact. “I already stopped taking the herbs.”

“You stopped—You told me you wanted to wait.”

“Perhaps I also found myself coming back on that statement. Do you actually think I would offer you a child when I asked you for a favor if I did not want one? Do you believe me to be so calculating?”

He blushes. When she gave over to him and Elrond, he had believed her to make a high stake gamble. He had thought she offered him a child in the hope it would sway him to give Melo his vote, but that he would not be so desperate to accept her offer as he knew she did not yet want children.

He gets up from the bed and takes two glasses and a bottle of mead placed on Emma’s vanity by a thoughtfull servant, along with some fruit and sweets.

“Your motives are not always clear, Emma. Even you must admit that you sometimes have an air of secrecy around your decisions and actions. And around yourself.”

“I thought we were speaking of having children. Where did you accusing me of being secretive suddenly comes from?”

“We are married for four months, Emma. We have shared and bonded. But I know very little of what makes you, you. What is it you whisper with your brother about? What has happened that gave you those scars? What do you enjoy doing?”

“I think I can say the same about you, Thorin. And if you are that unhappy about me, why tonight? Why the bonding?”

Thorin drops to his knees at her side. “Not unhappy, azyungal, never that!” He says breathlessly, almost in physical pain because she thinks he is unhappy with him. “Curious. Aching to know. But not in the least bit unhappy.”

“Then tell me what you want to know and stop accusing me of being disloyal.”

He gets up and hands her a glass of mead, placing he fruit next to her on the bed.

When he has gotten on the bed and lies next to her, he says: “What do you like, Emma? If there were no obligations, no expectations, what would you do all day?”

She frowns a bit, and a silence falls. After a minute or so, she answers. “I am not sure. There are never no obligations or expectations. But I like to be challenged. Intellectually, I mean.”She sighs. “Never mind, I don’t know how to explain it.”

“But I do get it. You did not name all the training you do.”

“No.”

“You do not like it?”

“I need it more than I like it. I get restless if I don’t train. Things annoy me more, people annoy me more.”

“Perhaps I should take up a more exhausting training schedule then.”

“You shouldn’t. As you said yourself, you’re old.” Emma replies dryly.

Before she can do anything, Thorjnhas pulled er towards him and starts tickling her mercilessly.

“Nooo, noo-oooo—oooo! Thorin, stop! You’re not old! You’re not old at aaa-haa-aaall!”

She wriggles and twists and turns, but she can not get away from his fingers and it is not untill she lying on their belly and he lies on his side next to her, both panting, that he stops and just runs his indexfinger softly up and down her spine.

“How did you get them?”

Her eyes darken and the smile that was on her face disappears.

“If you tell me honestly why you want to know, I will tell you.”

He hesitates for a moment, having difficulty finding the right words. “My imagination torments me.’ He finally admits.

She sighs deeply and starts chewing on her cheek again. He wants to push her, urge her to tell, but he knows he has to be patient; wait untill she starts talking.

“Melo and I went riding one day. Instead of taking his own horse, he let me ride it and he took one of the horses that belonged to the warriors himself. We rode the animals as fast as we could, it was great; we never felt so free. But then Melo pushed his horse too far and it fell and so did he. His leg was broken, quite badly. The bone was sticking out. Somehow we managed to get back to the palace and the guards immediately took Melo to the healers. When my—his father found out, he got quite upset.”

Thorin noticed how her voice got flat telling him te last part and how she almost slipped up, still not completely used to not having Melo’s father as her father despite of everything that had happened.

“What did he do?” he asks.

“He had one of the palaceguards whip me, telling him to only hit my lower back so the _merchandise_ would not be visibly damaged.” She whispers, and for a moment her memories take her back to that sunny afternoon that ended so desastrous. But she shrugs them off, going back to the reality in which Thorin is looking at her with a mixture of sadness, pity and appallment.

“He had someone do this to you, with a whip?” He blurts out, anger now seeping through into his voice. “Was I still coming then? How old were you?”

“He got more angry with me after you stopped coming. Probably thought I should have seduced you into marriage when I had the chance.”

Thorin gritts his teeth. Another thing that damn dragon did to him.

“When my brother was finally healed enough to get out of bed and walk by himself, the first thing he did was find that palaceguard. He brought me his head the same day.”

Thorin is abruptly pulled away from his thoughts on Smaug as his wife coldly states how her brother murdered on of her fathers employees for her.

“He—he brought you his head.”

“His shaven head.” She adds coldly.

Thorin is silent for a while, thoughts twirling through his head.

“Has he done it more often? Avenging you?”

Emma looks at him. “Do not pretend to be ignorant.”

“Is that why you do so much for Melo?” he finally asks.

“What do you mean?”

“Is that the reason that you keep protecting him, keep fixing everything for him?”

“Would you not do the same for your kin, Thorin?” He hears the anger in her voice and knows he has overstepped some invisible boundary of what he could and what he could not say about her brother.

“I have to admit that I would. But my kin would not do the foolish things Melo does.”

“That’s what Fili said. But the fact remains that you would do the same.”

“Why did you speak to Fili about this?”

“On the moring of the vote, I might have subtely reminded him that I once saved his life.”

“Please tell me you didn’t!” Thorin says, a little shocked Emma basically blackmailed Fili.

Emma shrugs.

“Tell me, what would you have done if you hadn’t married me but Fili or Kili instead? You would not have been able to get my vote then.”

“I would have asked Fili or Kili to get your vote. And perhaps you would have also changed your vote if you saw that the crown went to me.”

“Asked them?” Thorin says sarcastically.

“Something like that.”

Thorin looks at Emma taxating. “Who would you have chosen? If I hadn’t offered you the first courting gift.”

Emma’s head jerks towards him. “Why do you ask?”

“I can’t help but think that you would not have chosen me.”

Emma scoffs. “I would not have chosen anyone.”

“You had to choose. I gave that choice to you even if it was taken away from you by others.”

“That does not mean I could not have told Sindor to choose for me. Or tell Fili or Kili that the three of you should make the decision.”

“And whom would Sindor have chosen?”

“You, I think. You know his father: why settle for a prince if you can get a king as son in law.” She says dryly.

Thorin can’t help but laugh. “Aye, that’s true.”

“Who would Fili and Kili have chosen?”

“Me. They were the ones to push me to make your first gift.”

Emma raises her eyebrows. “You needed pushing for that?!”

“Well you didn’t tell me what you wanted!” He sputters “And I was very unsure if you would want me, to say the least! You ignored me as much as possible in my own kingdom and acted so cool I got frostbite the rest of the time!”

“Wauw, how strange!” Emma says sarcastically.

“Yes! I thought you would be happy if I took you away from your—from Melo’s father.”

“I waited 20 years for you, and you didn’t even send me a letter! And when I saw you again, you basically ignored me untill you needed to blame someone!”

“Don’t you get it, Emma? I had nothing left to offer! Your father would have laughed in my face and quickly married you off to some nobleman so you wouldn’t run away with me or something. And I did not ignore you! It was merely too—distracting for me to talk to you.”

“Too distracting?! I was covered head to toe!”

“It was still you.”

Emma smiles, gets up and straddles him. “Too distracting, hmmm? And now?”

Thorin runs his hand over her tighs and to her waist

“Very.” He murmers

She bends over and kisses him, her hips grinding over his groins en her breasts over his chest in the process.

“And now?” she whispers in his ear.

“Emma” he moans. “Azyungal.”

She starts nipping at his neck and he softly kneeds her asscheeks, slowly bringing her hips down on his. When she sits up and places his head at her entrance he gasps, feeling the welcoming wetness.

“Emma, no, wait” Thorin manages to sigh out.

She frowns, a bit unsure of herelf. “Do you not—do you not want it?’

“i want it” Thorin pants. “But I need to know first. Who would you have chosen?”

Emma sits back own on his tighs, depriving his cock of the warm touch it had felt mere seconds ago.

“I would have asked my brother or your nephews.”

“And if you had to choose?”

She looks down, a bit ashamed. “I would have chosen Kili just to spite you and Melo’s father for forcing me to come here. “

Thorin sits up on his elbows, his erection going soft. “Really? And why Kili? Why not Fili?” he asks, anger and accusation seeping through into his voice

“Kili will never become king, so that would be disappointing to Melo’s father. And because he doesn’t really notice how people around him feel, so he would never have noticed how I feel about you. And you work more with Fili than with Kili, so if I chose Fili I would see you more.” Emma admits.

She notices his physical reaction to her words and sees the hurt on his face. For once she doesn’t get upset and she doesn’t walk away. Instead, she bend sover to him, cupping his face in her hands and softly kissing him.

“I would have been utterly miserable.” She whispers. “For the rest of my life I would have to be close to you without being able to be with you. Please, Thorin.”

He looks into her eyes. “So you do want to be with me?” He asks, an unfamiliar vulnerability in his voice. “Would you have agreed if you had known how things would work out?”

“I have not been the best of husbands. I mean, the wedding night, the trial, Jessa. And you know how sorry I am about it, but I can not change it. So would you choose me?” He continues.

A small sob escapes her as she slides down on his hardened member. “I want you. I need you.” She whispers as she puts her forehead to his and starts rocking her hips back and forth.

Their coupling is soft this time, meant to convey love instead of pleasure, and afterwards Emma cuddles up to Thorin while he puts his strong arms around her. They shut out the world and just exist for eachother in the next couple of hours.


	41. Mother

Emma groans as she wakes up, her sleep even shorter this night than normally.

“Stay in bed, azyungal. Go running later, or just skip today.”

Emma looks down on her husband, wanting nothing more than to just lie back in his embrace again. He wraps his arms around her and starts to pull he close to him.

“I can’t. I have to see my—Eliana today.”

Thorin groans, softly biting her neck. “Just a little longer…”

Emma sighs deeply. I can’t, ghivashel. I will see you tonight.”

“Tonight?” he groans, not quite fully awake yet.

She presses a kiss on his forehead. “I love you.” She whispers, and he falls back to sleep with a fainth smile on his face.

After her handmaidens have dressed her and done her hair and make-up, Emma reluctantly leaves her chambers and makes her way through the quiet corridors, halls and hallways. Everyone is still recovering from the festivities of last night; even the lowest miners got to enjoy the king’s ale and food, but Emma has to make her payment, grudgingly or not.

When she knocks on the door to Elrond’s chambers, a pale looking servant opens them and announces her with a weak voice. She is greeted by Elrond, whom is sitting at the breakfast table by himself.

“Emma! How is it that you look so well after a night of drinking and a lack of sleep?”

“I would normally say ‘good genes’, but that seems a bit sarcastic right now, so I m going to go with ‘I’m used to it’.

Elrond looks a little shocked at her for a moment, but then starts laughing. “And a sense of humor even!” when his laughter dies down he looks at her more seriously. “A good sign for today?”

“Deflection.” Emma shrugs, not quite ready to show real feelings yet.

“Do you expect your grandfather to come today?” Elrond asks, changing the subject when he sees her uneasy reaction to his question.

“I believe him and Dain were opening another barrel when I left the party, so my bet would be on tomorrow. Just let me know when he comes, Melo and I will join you to aid in the damagecontrol.”

“Come, sit down and tell me if you enjoyed your party.”

A broad smile appears on Emma’s face. “I really did. And I was so happy my dress and accessories turned out the way I wanted, because I was really late with ordering it, but the seemstresses got it exactly right.”

Emma and Elrond keep talking, the latter mostly listening to his daughter talking about all the things that interest girls her age, enjoying the easy atmosphere.

Eliana watches them from around the corner. She has been looking forward to this day, but she knows it is only happening because Emma has a payment to make. So when she sees her husband, or the man that is like her husband without actually being married, talking to their daughter so easily, there is a slight feeling of hurt and jealousy piercing her heart. But it disappears after she takes a deep breath, readying herself to join them for breakfast.

“Goodmorning Emma. You look great!”

Emma is a bit startled when Eliana suddenly walks into the diningroom while she was in the middle of explaining where Thorin got her horse and why it is so special, but she manages to hide it and gets up, a smile plastered on her face.

“Thank you, Eliana. I hope you feel well.”

Elrond pulls out a chair for her and Eliana takes a seat. “I am, thank you. Hasn’t breakfast been brought yet?”

“No lirimaer, I thought it best to wait for you. I’ll ask the servant now.”

Elrond gets up and sticks his head around the door of the dining room, asking the servant in the antechamber to bring their breakfast.

“So, Emma, do you have any specific plans for today?” Eliana asks carefully

“I thought it best to let you decide.” Emma says politely.

“Is there anything you would like to do?” Eliana asks, looking inquisitive at Emma.

“Really, anything you like.”

“Perhaps we could go riding, I can imagine you can not wait to go out on your new horse.”

“We can go riding, but not on the new horse. I need to break him in first. There are other horses, or ponies.”Emma sees the look on Eliana’s face. “But then, you don’t like horse riding, so perhaps something else would be better.”

Eliana can’t help but let out a snort of laughter. “No, I don’t. And I have never met a dwarf that does.”

Emma stiffens. “You are right, dwarves don’t like horse riding.”

Before Eliana can say anything, Elrond sits back down. “I thought it would be nice to have breakfast with the three of us.”

Emma nods, observed by an elf and a dwarf that are supposed to be her parents. And are holding hands under the table thinking she doesn’t see it. Great, today will just be one of the highlights of my life….Emma thinks sarcastically.

A servant comes in with a trolley full of breakfast, breads, eggs, cheeses, meats, fruits, juices, coffee, tea, it is all there, as if it were a breakfast for a couple during their honeymoon. When everything is set on the table, Emma takes some of the sliced fruit and starts nibbling on it, not really hungry. Elrond pours her a cup of tea and puts in a generous amount of sugar. She slowly stirs in the cup, unconsciously hoping that drawing out the actions involved in getting breakfast will postpone the talking that will inevitably follow.

Mere moments later, her prediction comes true as Elrond scrapes his troat. “We thought you might have some questions for us.”

Emma looks up from pushing a piece of pineapple over her plate. She feels like a litle girl, being watched by her parents and Elrond’s somewhat formal tone. “Questions about what?”

For a split second she sees a deep frown darkening Elrond’s face letting her know she is to act nice today, but then it is replaced by a smile. “About anything.”

She smiles back. “No, no questions along the lines you probably mean. I hope you both enjoyed yesterday?”

“I hope my father coming here will not cause problems?” Eliana asks, her voice as fake-polite as Emma’s and Elrond’s.

Emma purses her lips. “I don’t think he can act too rude, seeing that Dain is Thorin’s cousin and your father is here as part of Dain’s court. But we will have to wait and see.”

“We have a family dinner planned for tonight. Would you like to ask Melo to join us?” Eliana asks casually to turn the conversation away from Burdur.

“If you would like him to join us, I can ask him.” Emma says flatly.

“I would.”

Emma walks to the antechamber and asks the servant to bring her some writing materials and sits back down. When the servant brings her the requested items she takes a piece of paper and starts writing dots and stripes on it. Elrond and Eliana both peer at the paper, not understanding what she is doing. When she is finished, she puts some lines on the bottom of the paper, folds it and asks the servant to deliver it to her brother as quickly as possible.

“Why did you send Melo some scribbles?” Eliana asks suspiciously.

“Scribbles?” Emma’s face turns red as she realises that out of habit she has written the message to her brother in the code they always use. “I—eeeh—habit, I presume. But he will know what is on it, and he’ll join us for dinner.”

“Are you sure? He hasn’t even replied yet.” Eliana asks.

“Yes, I am. So what would you like to do today?”

“I shall leave the schedule all up to you.”

Emma had wanted to be polite and leave it up to Eliana what they were going to do, so she did not make a plan. But now she has to come up with one at the top of her head, how terribly inconvenient!

“Eeeeh, we could go to Dale and do some shopping. Or we could go to the hotsprings, though I doubt we will find masseuses there so early in the day without reservation. Or we could walk up the mountain.” She offers.

“How about we go to Dale in the morning and the hotsprings in the afternoon?” Eliana asks.

Emma nods. “I will make the arrangements.” She gets up again and walks to the antechamber, only to find it empty. Elrond only appears to have one servant, and he is currently delivering Emma’s letter to Melo. So she walks into the corridor and tells one of the servants there to arrange an escort for their plans. The servant looks at her with a confused look on her face, and after a small sigh she explains that he has to go to Dwalin and inform him of their plans. She is sure Thorin’s armoury master will know what to do.

When she returns to the table Elrond asks if there is a problem with her going to Dale.

“No, off course not, I often go shopping there. But there has to be an escort so I sent a servant to Dwalin to arrange it all. I expect them to be here shortly.”

Eliana gets up. “I will fetch my things.”

When she has left the room, Elrond looks at his daughter. “Are you alright?”

“Sure, why wouldn’t I be?”

“Perhaps you can fool your mother, but not me.”

“It does not matter how I feel, remember?”

“You know very well that I am not a dwarf and that I do not handle these things like a dwarf would. I do not mean for this to be punishment for you.”

Emma smiles. “I know. And I already said I am fine.”

“Alright then. Do you need money?”

“Money? For what?”

“For in Dale.”

“No, thank you. If I want anything the bill will be send to Thorin’s treasury.”

Elrond crooks an eyebrow. “Like in the tavern?” he asks a bit sarcastically.

Emma snorts. “Yes, that might not have been the best example. But I think Thorin straightened that out with Bard.”

She looks up when she hears the heavy footsteps of her escort approaching, but when the doors to Elrond’s chambers open, Melo is announced. He greets Emma with a kiss on her cheek and Elrond with a small nod.

**”I’m not too happy about this invitation, namad.”**

**”What a coincience, I’m not too happy about today. But we all have to do things we don’t want for the people we love, don’t we?” She replies sarcastically.

Melo sighs deeply. **”Your idea or hers?”**

**”Hers.”**

**”I see. What are you going to do today?**

**”First to Dale and then to the hotsprings.”**

Melo reaches into his pockets and takes out a purse of coins, putting it in Emma’s hand.

**“You know I don’t need this.”**

**”Just to be sure. I’ll see you at seven.”** And after giving her another kiss on her cheek, he leaves again.

“I thought you said you didn’t need money?”

Emma looks up at Elrond. “I don’t. But I know Melo and he wouldn’t have left without me taking it. I’ll just give it to the poor or something.”

Elond looks at her a bit strange, but says nothing more as Eliana walks back into the dining room, ready to go. Together they walk into the corridor and while Eliana and Emma are escorted to the main entrance where their carriage is waiting for them, he stays behind in the doorway, wondering how this day is going to work out.

The carriage ride is filled with uncomfortable silence and strained conversation. Emma has no idea what to say to Eliana and Eliana seems to feel the same about Emma. They almost sigh audibly in relief when they arrive in Dale and can turn their attention to shopping.

After walking through the already busy city centre for a while, Emma pointing out several interesting sights to Eliana, they go to Emma’s favorite shoe shop, where they are enthusiastically greeted by the owner.

“Your highness” he says with a deep bow, “I had not expected to see you here today, but I am glad I do. Were the shoes for yesterday to your satisfaction?”

“Very much so.” Emma says with a smile. “But now I find myself in need of some higher shoes again.”

“Off course, your highness. A lady such as you can only wear flat shoes for so long. Will your guest be needing something as well?”

Emma looks at Eliana, whom is looking at some shoes displayed in the store. “Sure, whatever she likes. You know where to send the bill.”

At a wave of the owner’s hand, two employees walk over to Eliana and start helping her in selecting and fitting shoes. The owner himself helps Emma, knowing she does not like having so many people showing her shoes but would rather look herself and ask him for assistance if needed.

“I would like these, these and these. But these I want in black with black diamond studs all over the shoes and an open toe, and these I want in gold with a white gold buckle on the nose, you know what kind of buckle I speak of, right?”

“Yes, your highness, the ladies buckle, like these have?” The owner shows her another pair of shoes and Emma nods.

“And these I would like in white without any decorations.”

“Certainly, your highness. The black ones I have like you described, but with black chrystals on them, shall I show you those or would you prefer diamonds?”

The owner had not even blinked when he heard Emma’s wishes, which are rather on the expensive side, but Eliana is almost staring at her.

“Do you know what that costs, Emma?” She asks a bit sternly.

Emma shrugs. “No idea really. I never see the bill, it is sent to the treasury.”

“It will go into the hundrerds if not thousands of gold coins. Don’t you think that is a bit outrageous to spend on shoes?”

Emma wants to reply, but the owner returns with the requested pair of shoes. “Is something not as you would like it, your highness?” he asks tentively as he sees the two women look at eachother.

“How much do those shoes cost?” Eliana asks sharply.

“For her highness they are 600 gold coins, but if they are made with diamonds it would be 1800.” The owner says.

“600?! You spend 600 on a single pair of shoes?!”

But Emma has already sat down and put on the shoes. “I’ll take them and I’ll wear them now. And just to be clear, you won’t sell the same to anyone else from Erebor, right?”

“Off course, your majesty, as usual. Shall I send the other pairs to you or do you wish for someone to pick them up?”

“Send them to me. Eliana, which ones have you chosen?”

“I am not in need of new shoes at the moment. And I think these models would be rather uncomfortable.” Eliana huffs indignantly, a bit offended that Emma disregarded her remarks.

“Alright, but if you change your mind you can always come back and have the bill sent to me.”

The owner nods and wants to pack the shoes, but then Bard comes into the shop, followed by a young woman.

“Your highness.” The owner says with a deep bow that is met by a nod from Bard.

“Queen Emma! May I conclude from your presence here that there is something here in Dale that we are better at than the Ereborians?”

Emma laughs. “Only if you promise never to repeat it to any dwarf you meet. They would all turn to shoemaking just to prove you wrong.”

He grinns. “May I introduce my daughter Sigrid. Sigrid, this is her highness Queen Emma of Erebor and lady Eliana of Rivendel.”

Sigrid blushes a bit while curtesying, but smiles sweety nonetheless. “It is an honour to meet you.”

“And you.” Emma replies politely. “Are you looking for something special?”

“We have a ball coming up, an invitation has already been sent to you, to signify Sigrid’s coming of age and accepting offers of courtship.” Bard answers for his daughter.

“How exiting!” Emma says with a genuine smile. “What kind of dress will you be wearing?”

“White is the traditional color.” Sigrid replies sweetly, but then she blushes heavier. “It will look a bit like your wedding dress.”

“It will look great on you.” Emma says, ignoring the fact that Sigrid seems to be a bit ashamed that she will wear a dress looking like Emma’s one. “But were you at the wedding? If you were, I must deeply apologize. I have met so many people that day and I can’t seem to remember seeing you.”

“No, I wasn’t. I wasn’t old enough then to be out in public. But there were pictures drawn of you and the king.”

“I see. So what kind of shoes will you be wearing? Also white or more of a contrasting color?”

While Emma and Sigrid discuss to pro’s and cons of the different choices, Bard stands next to Eliana, whom he has gotten to know quite well during the times he was in Erebor to discuss the treaty.

“I see things are going well between you and Emma.”

“They were, untill we came here and Emma started buying rediculously prices shoes.”

“Rediculously---eeeh---priced?”

“Have you not noticed? The prices are really outrageous, and Emma just ordered three pairs, so I might have said something about it that she could not really appreciate.”

Bard sighs. “I should have known when she insisted coming here because Emma also shops here.”

Eliana looks at him questioningly.

“Dale is still rebuilding, so my income is not yet at a level one would expect of a king.”

Eliana looks at Emma and Sigrid, them having settled on a bourgondy red pair of high heeled shoes and a flat pair in the same color for when her feet get tired. Sigrid is now walking around the store in them and looking hopefully at her father.

She almost hears his heart break when he shakes his head at his daughter, indicating she can not get them.

“Is there something wrong, Bard? Do you not like the shoes?” Emma asks, having seen his disapproval.

Bard turns a bit pink and starts stumbling. “I—eeeh—no, I mean, they are perfectly nice, but—eeeeh..”

“I think Bard shares my opinion that the prices here are proposterous.” Eliana says a bit smug.

“Perhaps I may gift them to Sigrid then?” Emma asks, understanding where the hesitation comes from. “I mean, it is custom to give presents at a ball, is it not?”

Bard pains himself in trying to find a way to decline, ashamed a neighbouring royal has to gift his daughter the shoes she wants, but he can not find a valid reason.

“It is settled then.” Emma says with a smile, and she turns back to Sigrid. “When is the ball?”

“A week from Saturday.” The princess of Dale says with a big smile.

“Then I will be needing some additional things as well. Is there a color I am not supposed to wear?”

“White would be a little strange, but if you want to wear you can, off course.” Sigrid hurries to say.

“Perhaps purple.What do you think of purple?”

Sigrid and Emma keep on talking while the owner of the shop brings out more shoes for them. Half an hour later, Sigrid walks out of the shop with four new pairs of shoes while Emma wears her new pair and has ordered an additional one for the ball.

“Will you join us for lunch?” Bard asks, looking at Eliana and Emma.

“We would love to.” Eliana answers, and the four of them walk to the royal palace of Dale, followed by Emma’s escort.

Arriving there, lunch is ready, and they can immediately sit at the table.

“So Sigrid, the ball is for you coming of age and perhaps accepting courting offers?” Emma asks.

“Yes, but not then and there. More my da stating that I am old enough and men may come to ask for an opportunity of courting me.”

“And is there someone in particular you have in mind?” Emma asks softly when she sees that Bard and Eliana are talking amongst themselves.

Sigrid turns bright, tomato red. “There may be someone, but I don’t think he will like me.” She answers whispering.

“Why not? What’s not to like?”

“He is—he is not of the race of men.” Sigrid whispers.

“So an elf or a dwarf.”Emma muses. “If I can be of help, please let me know. I would be happy to introduce you or something.”

“Thank you.” Sigrid whispers. “I have already met him, of course, but the circumstances were rather messy as we were under attack first by orcs and then by a dragon.”

“I see. So Legolas, Fili, Kili, Bofur or Oin? Well, the two latter are married and I know you only saw very little of Legolas, so it must be either Fili or Kili.”

Sigrid blushes even more and turns her head away from a smiling Emma. They join the conversation Eliana and Bard are having and the rest of the lunch is spent on discussing polite topics and Emma’s new responsabilities as both queen of Erebor and queen in her own right. When they have finished eating, Emma tells Bard about their other plans for the day and they say their goodbyes.

When Emma and Eliana arrive at the main entrance of Erebor after a silent carriage ride, Emma sends a servant to her chambers to have Jalila bring the things she needs for the hotsprings, and she leads Eliana deep into the mountain to the place the naturally hot water bubbles into several large bassins.

Jalila walks in a couple of moments later, escorting Emma and Eliana to the changing rooms and helping Emma change. After that, Jalila leaves and Emma and Eliana sit in one of the pools, sighing as they slide into the warm water. They remain quiet for a while, but then Eliana turns to Emma

“Would you have done this if you didn’t have a debt to pay to Elrond?”

Emma chews the inside of her cheek while she thinks. She does not want to be rude or unkind, but also not a liar. “I don’t know.”

“Look Emma, I know you and your brother are upset, and I fully understand it. But what I do not understand is how you seem so at ease with Elrond while you are so tensed, so stressed, with me.”

“I can not speak for Melo, I do not know what his considerations are.”

“And you?”

“Do you really want to discuss this? We could just keep things easy and talk about polite things.”

“I don’t think anything is easy with you Emma. You remind me a lot of my former husband.”

“I see.” Emma says emotionless, while all she wants to do is to burst out in anger after Eliana’s thoughtless remark.

“He was also so very shielded. But his temper was more close to the surface, not hidden by a layer of polite emotionlessness like you.”

“Right.”

Eliana sighs. “There is no reason not to say it outloud. You don’t like me and you only do this because you needed Elrond at your side for the vote. If I’m honest, it surprised me he did not tell you to come to Rivendel for a while.”

Emma face hardens. Elrond has been told it would be very dishonorable to speak about her giving over to others, yet he told Eliana.

“I do not know why he asked what he asked, you would have to speak to him about that.”

Eliana is silent for a moment, but then she continues. “I never bonded with you like I did with Melo. I saw you for about two minutes, and then you were taken away.”

“And whose fault is that?!” Emma bursts, she had been approaching the limit of ho much she can take all day, and now her mother implying she likes Melo more tipped the scale. “It is not my fault you couldn’t keep your legs together! It is not my fault you and Elrond did not have the balls to take Melo and me with you! And it certainly isn’t my fault Melo does not want to speak to you!”

Eliana is a little taken back by this sudden flood of words coming rather loudly out of Emma’s mouth, but she doesn’t give up. “So now you blame me for wanting to talk to Melo because you don’t want to talk to me?”

“What?! No! I don’t care if you talk with Melo, spend all your time with him or get him to go live with you in Rivendel! But do not use me to get closer to him.”

“I’m sorry Emma. I truly am.”

Eliana wants to continue, but Jalila comes running in. **”Emma, Emma! Your grandfather is in Elrond’s chambers and he is making a scene! Melo is there now, but I don’t know how long he can keep things peaceful!”** She almost yells.

**”One day. Just one day without some familydrama. “** Emma sighs as she rises out of the pool.

”Your father is with Elrond and I believe our presence is needed.” Emma says flatly to Eliana, whoms eyes widen just thinking about what Burdur is doing.

**”Jalila, get a servant to ask Thorin, Dain and Melo to also go to Elrond’s chambers and then help me get dressed.”**

Jalila nods and swiftly walks out of the springs only to return moments later to help Emma. Half an hour later the three of them hesitantly walk out of the springs and to Elrond’s chambers. There, they can hear the yelling through the closed doors. Emma closes her eyes and lets out a little moan when she sees a clearly agitated Thorin and Dain also coming towards the rooms, but pushes the door open nonetheless.

Inside, she finds Elrond, Melo and Burdur in the sitting room. Elrond is seated on one of the sofas, looking calm as ever if not for the tiniest frown pushing his eyebrows together. Burdur however is the opposite of collected. His face is bright red from all the yelling, his beard seems a little disheveled and he is breathing heavily from anger. Melo is standing a bit to the side, observing what is going on.

>“And there we have the little bastard herself.”< He bites out. >“Coming to the aid of this woodland sprite or just here to enjoy the show?”<

Melo wants to say something at his grandfather insulting Emma, but she calmly says: “Grandfather, why don’t you sit down and calmly explain what can be done to fix your problem.”

>“Sit down and shut your mouth, woman.”< Burdur growls. >“Men will handle this.”<

Emma looks at Elrond whom jerks his head the tiniest bit to of the chairs in the room, and sits down. But in another chair than the one he nodded at. The moment she sits down, Thorin and Dain walk in while Jalila and Eliana stay in the antechamber. Thorin looks at her inquisitive, but relaxes visibly when she smiles at him, letting him know she is fine.

**”What’s going on?”** Emma whispers to Melo.

**”Grandfather seems to be a tad bit upset with Elrond.”** Her brother answers dryly

**”Great, another family drama. Perhaps we should just build a cabin in the woods somewhere and live quietly of the land. But then on the positive side: it got me out of an enourmously annoying conversation with Eliana.”**

Melo grinns and sits down in the chair next to her while Emma watches Thorin, Dain and Burdur softly talking and Elrond gazing at the wall.

**”So why are we here? I mean, we have nothing to do with this. Aren’t parents supposed to keep their children out of their fights?”**

Emma snorts in laughter. **”I am here because I have to spend the whole day with Eliana and she is here. I havent the faintest why you are here. If it were me, I would be having a nap right now instead of having to listen to their endless blabbering.”** she replies.

>”She does not fall under the bastard’s authority!”< Burdur suddenly shouts at Thorin and Dain, and Thorin immediately grabs him byt he collar and pushes him against the wall >”Refer to my wife as ‘the bastard’ one more time and I will have your hair for insulting the queen!”< He hisses. >”Now sit down and get this mess over with.”<

Once everyone is seated, grudgingly or not, Thorin starts speaking, looking at Elrond:

“So, Burdur feels he has been treated rather badly by his daughter pretending ot be death and you living with her like you are married without actually being married. And now he claims rights over her.”

“I see.” Elrond flatly says. “And who might be the one to decide on this matter?”

“We are not exactly sure on that. It may be Burdur, as he is her father. It may be Melo, as he is her son. It may be you, as you are practically her husband. But it may also be Emma, as she is queen of the kingdom Eliana falls under. And if we can not agree, it will be me, as I am king of Erebor and hold the Arkenstone.”

“You seem to forget Eliana herself.” Elrond says, anger barely hidden.

“Eliana is a dwarf, so dwarven law.”

“And how will you decide then?”

Emma holds her hand in front of her mouth to hide her smile. This was typically darven; if there was not one person in charge or a dispute could not be settled with a fight, they never get anywhere. Well, male dwarven that is…..

“A vote, perhaps.”

“And who gets a vote?”

“Everyone here. And don’t even start about Eliana voting. Dwarf. Dwarven law. Different. Get used to it.”

Emma and Melo look at eachother, almost reading what the other one is going to do. Emma then catches Elrond’s eye and points to herself. When they all vote, Melo and Emma vote for Emma, Dain and Burdur vote for Burdur and surprisingly, Elrond votes for himself. So it is down to Thorin to decide, again. There is a small masochistic part in him that wants to vote for Elrond, just to make it a tie and drive everyone mad again. When he looks at his wife, he sees she is thinking the same, her eyes sparkling with mischief. But then he remembers his position and just votes for Emma.

Burdur turns to his granddaughter. >”You know I have the right.”<

Emma tilts her head a bit. >”Perhaps. But her son is of age, so I belief his right superceeds yours. And lets be honest, she and Elrond are practically married.”<

>”I heard you don’t exactly get along, and I understand. I mean, who would want someone telling you shouldn’t buy shoes because they are too expensive.”< Burdur says uncharacteristically reasonable.

Emma wants to ask him whereever he got that information, but Thorin’s booming laughter makes anything she would say inaudible.

>”She told you your shoes were too expensive?”< He says between laughters.

Emma nods, looking rather sour.

>”Were they?”< Thorin continues, still laughing.

>”Around 600. Per pair.”<

>”600 per….And how many pairs did you get?”<

Emma shrugs apologetically. >”Four. And four for Bard’s daughter.”<

Now it is time for Dain and Burdur to laugh while Thorin looks a little dazed. >”Told you not to get married, Oakenshield!”< Dain says while clapping Thorin on the back.

Burdur clears his throat. >”Anyway. You can not send her away, you don’t want to do that to your—well your elf. And Melo doesn’t want to send her away. He wants to hide it, but I can see he still needs his amad.”< Melo sputters, but is silenced by Burdur continuing. >”So give her to me, or Dain or Thorin. We’ll make your problems leave, sort of speak.”<

Emma looks around the room, her eyes lingering on Elrond whom is looking mighty annoyed that he can not understand what is being said. ~” What the hell is going on here, Emma? Are you trying to make some deal at the expense of your mother or something?”~

~” Everyone always tries to make a deal, Elrond. That is why it is so important to know who to trust. And you clearly showed you do not trust me at all!”~

Emma turns away from her father and looks at the others. “Elrond is her husband in every sense of the word, except for a signed paper. And as she lives in Rivendel now, and he is lord there, she also falls under his responsability in that way.”

Burdur jumps up and starts grumbling, but Emma interupts him before he can begin. “She made a decision. Get over it. You didn’t have a daughter a couple of days ago, now you have one again. Be thankfull for that.”

“Fine. But if he lives with her like they are married, I am owed a bride price.”

“A bride price? Elrond sarcastically asks.

“Aye, a bride price ye no good tree shagger. Do you think I give away my daughter for naught?!” Burdur agressively says.

“Do _you_ actually expect me to buy my wife, like she is some sort of a slave or a pet?!” Elrond scoffs when he says it, and Emma’s face hardens a bit at his remark, as her marriage was arranged a the same way and her father is now comparing her to a slave or a dog.

But before Burdur can give in to his rapidly rising temper, Emma flatly says: “It is usual to compensate the father for the loss of his daughter and the costs he has made for her, Elrond.”

“Nonetheless, I shall not pay for my wife.” The elf stubbornly says, looking at all of them with disdain dripping of his face.

Burdur starts to look around at the dwarves present. >”Is he serious?! He stole my daughter and now he refuses a bride price?! I’ll have at least 500.000 for her!”<

Melo scoffs. >”I think you’re a bit late to be asking for such a price. For my sister, it would have been very reasonable, but Elianas position is quite different.”<

Emma starts to feel uncomfortable. She does not want to hear what Melo’s father got for her, as she does not want to know how high, or how low, Thorin estimates her monetairy value.

>”I will take my leave. Thorin, would you please negotiate this? I will pay for it.”<

Thorin sighs and nods, and Emma gets up. ~”Ada, shall we see how Eliana is doing?”~

Reluctantly Elrond gets up, casting a last venomous look at Burdur before going to the antechamber with Emma.

 

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“And?” Eliana asks Elrond, the tension visible in the thin lines on her face and her balled fists.

“Well, it seems to be arranged, although your father was trying to sell you to me.” Elrond answers angrily.

“You did not agree on a price?” The frown on Eliana’s face clearly shows she finds it hard to believe.

“Off course not! Do you actually think I would treat you like a piece of cattle?!”

Emma had decided to keep her mouth shut about what was really going on, but Eliana already turned to her. “You or Melo?”

“Me or Melo what?” Emma asks as innocently as possible while being scrutinized by both Elrond and Eliana.

“Dont take me for a fool, Emma. I know my father, he won’t let this opportunity go to waste.”

I am afraid I don’t know what you mean.”

“Who is paying and how much?!” Eliana’s frustration is clearly audible in her voice, while Elrond turns red in anger as he is starting to figure out what she means.

“Honestly, I don’t know. “ Not a complete lie, as she really does not know how much she will be paying, but big enough a lie for Elrond to see through her.

However, she is spared from further interrogation as Thorin, Melo, Dain and Burdur walk into the antechamber, the first one beckoning her to come to him with a nudge of his head. They stand closely together, trying to ignore the tension between Burdur, Eliana and Elrond.

“A hundrerd thousand.” Thorin whispers to her. “To be brought to him in single gold coins.”

Emma nods, not too happy about Burdur making demands while he was in a disadvantaged position, but not eager so say anything about it either. She sees Thorin looking down, and for a moment she thinks he is not too happy about it either, but when she follows his gaze she notices he is trying to see her feet.

“Azyungal, are your shoes really that expensive?” he finally asks

She smiles as sweetly and innocently as she can. “Yes. But when I wear only those shoes, you will know it is well worth it.”

Thorin turns the tiniest bit pink and bites his lower lip, looking at the elegant foot and lower leg his wife is seductively sticking out from under her dress. “Do you have anymore duties today?” he whispers hoarsely.

“I do have a dinner, and I am afraid that I will have to tend to my duties to my king after.”

A low grumble escapes his chest when she runs her finger along the line of his beard and softly pulls the braid at his chin. “I will haul you over my shoulder and carry you through the hallways to our chambers for all of Erebor to see to perform those duties now.” He whispers through gritted teeth.

“And there is nothing I would like more, Thanu Men, but I am afraid I am otherwise indisposed.”

“Damned Emma, you’re killing me here!”Thorin says while looking down at the point where his breeches have become a little tight. “Tell them we need to discuss something for just five minutes.”

Both of them are startled when Elrond walks up to them. “Emma, shall we have dinner?” he asks curtly.

Emma sucks in her lower lip a litle bit and gives Thorin one last provocative glance before she turns around and nods at Elrond. Reluctantly, Thorin leads Dain and Burdur out of Elrond’s chambers and to the dining hall.

 

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“What were you doing in there, Emma?” Elrond asks Emma while they are sitting at the dinner table with Melo, waiting for Eliana to bring Elladan, Elrohir and Arwen.

“What do you mean?”

“I seemed like you were trying to make a deal with them.”

“I am queen, Elrond. And I act like a queen. I don’t make deals involving your wife, that would be dishonorable. And contrary to _some_ people in this room, I am not dishonorable.”

Melo looks at his sister, a bit unsure of where this is going.

“Are you accusing your brother of being dishonorable, or me?” Elrond asks flatly.

“Hmm, lets see. Was it my brother or you that spoke of the favor you granted me and my payment for it?”

“I did not speak of it to anyone!” Elrond protests, but keeping his voice down so his wife and other children don’t hear their conversation.

“Then why does Eliana know? And how did Thorin know?”

“That—I mean—you---They are your mother and your husband.” Elrond sputters.

“And? You accuse me of being dishonorable while I got you exactly what you wanted, but you are the one that lacks honor.”

“Exactly what I wanted?!” Elrond hisses. “You are the one that is allowing her father to sell her!”

“If you hate dwarven culture so much, then what the fuck are you still doing here?!” She hisses back, not minding Melo who softly puts a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. “You don’t see me going to Rivendel and them complaining there are elves there and they act like elves!”

“You only came because you wanted to get away from Thorin and didn’t know where else to go!” Yes, Emma did it. She got Elrond to lose his patience and spit out childish and hatefull comments that he knew to be untrue in his heart.

Emma draws her head back en clenches her jaw, in anger or hurt over his comment. “Just as Eliana is only spending the day with me to get closer to Melo!” she hisses back.

“Do I really need to remind you that you are to give Eliana a nice day?” Elrond says coldly.

“We went shopping, I offered her shoes. We had an entertaining lunch. We went to the hotsprings and then I got her out of returning to the Iron Hills and paying quite a large amount to keep Burdur from taking her back. And here I am now, ready for this great family dinner and even having practically forced Melo into coming here. So what more do you want? Tell me and you shall have it.”

“For you to act nicely during dinner!”

“O don’t worry, I will. But dinner hasn’t started yet and Eliana is not here yet!”

A second later, a smiling Eliana enters the dining room with Elladan, Elrohir and Arwen following her.

“Well, that was quite an uproar.” Arwen says in a light tone. “Glad that is over. What will we be having for dinner?”

“I ordered some nice venison roast.” Eliana says with a smile, looking at Melo.

But her son does not return her smile but instead looks at Emma untill Elladan asks her:

“So Emma, Eliana told us what happened with her father and I couldn’t help but wonder if there is anyone that has responsability over you. With you being queen.”

She feels uncomfortable with the question with most people present disapproving of this part of dwarven culture, but she answers nonetheless.

“Yes, Thorin off course. And then…eeeh….” Emma frowns, trying to figure it out. “Melo?”

“First Thorin off course. And then…eeeeeh….Elrond, and then me, you and Elrohir. No, wait, you, Elrohir and me. In that order. And if things get desperate, then Fili and Kili.”

“Why you last?” Elrohir asks.

“Because Elladan and you are older than me. But wait, no, that is not correct. No, no, officially it is Thorin first, then Fili and Kili and then me.”

“And me? And Elladan and Elrohir?” Elrond asks.

“Officially not, because Emma is not in your line and she does not have an official title of Rivendel.”Melo pauses for a moment. “But then, Balin did name Emma as your daughter at the ball, so… Never mind, this is all too confusing. Go to some scholar with these type of things.”

“You forget Burdur.” Eliana adds.

Yes, Burdur should also be in there somewhere. But that would mean, no wait…eeeeh…”

Melo looks utterly confused now and turns to Emma. **”Do you know? I mean, if Burdur could have responsability over you, it would mean you would be part of Dains court. And that can not be, can it?”**

Emma frowns. **”It can, I think. Your mother fell under your father’s responsability, but also under Burdur’s, so she would also be part of two courts. Right?”**

**”But you are queen, you can not fall under the court of another royal.”**

**”Then Eliana can never fall under Burdur again, as she was first married to your father, a king, and now practically married to Elrond, who may call himself a lord but his position is that of a king.”**

**”This is all very complicated.”** Melo sighs.

“Common.” Elrond reminds them.

“Right, sorry. We do not exactly know yet. But if you want to know exactly I can ask Balin or some other scholar. Or perhaps Thorin knows exactly.”

“No need. It was merely interest.” Elladan says.

Melo turns the subject to more general topics with Eliana, Elladan and Elrohir while Emma drinks a little more than she usually does during dinner and talks to Arwen about Sigrid’s ball. Elrond notices his youngest daughter’s drinking behavior, but does not say anything about it, remaining rather quiet throughout the evening and casting glances at her.

When they have finished their desserts, their after dinner coffee and their after dinner drinks, Melo decides to go back to his own chambers and asks Emma if she is also coming. She looks at Elrond, knowing she needs his permission, but he says:

“Stay a little, I have something I want to discuss with you later.”

“Off course.” She says politely and bids Melo a goodnight.

**”Bite you teeth and give them a smile, namad.”**He says with a grin before saying goodnight to everyone else and leaves.

Emma turns back to her conversation with Arwen untill Elrond comes to stand next to her a couple of minutes later. “Shall we sit in my study?”

She nods and follows him, taking a seat in the chair he pulls out for her.

“What did you and Eliana talk about?” he suddenly asks after it has been quiet for several moments.

Emma shrugs. “The restauration of Erebor and Dale, the price of shoes, Melo. Why?”

“I want to know what you said that made Eliana talk to Melo during dinner, and not you. You were supposed to be nice to her.”

“Really? Something I did? Well, let’s see. First I offered that she could get as many shoes as she wanted, but she declined, criticising me for buying shoes she believed to be too expensive. Then we had lunch with Bard and his daughter at his palace where we had the usual lunch conversation. Then we went to the hotsprings where she told there is no bond between us like she feels with Melo because she only saw me for two minutes after I was born. Perhaps I may have blamed the both of you for that, but I think that is as far as my rudeness goes. And finally I spend a hundrerd thousand gold to keep someone here I have no interest in keeping here. So would you have me do this day again or is there anything else you want me to do to make up for not living up to Eliana’s expectations? Or would you perhaps have my hair for my ‘dishonorable’ behavior?”

“I—eeeeeh---“

Emma gets up. “Just let my assistant know, she will make sure to clear my schedule or give you my braid. And for now, you said from breakfast untill saying goodnight. So, goodnight to you.”

“Emma, wait.” Elrond says sternly, and she knows she has no choice but to obey him, making her feel utterly frustrated. “You actually agreed to pay a hundrerd thousand gold coins for Eliana?”

“Thorin probably signed for me, so yes.” She says through gritted teeth.

“That must be even more than your price.”

“I have no idea what my dowery was. If you wish to claim it as you claimed me, please speak with Melo, he knows how much it was and he will give it to you. Would there be anything else?”

“You know very well…..” Elrond wants to finish his sentence, but when he sees Emma’s cold face, he just waves for her to leave, too upset he have this conversation right now.

And with that she walks out of Elrond’s chambers, almost running through the corridors.

“Emma, wait up!”

She turns around and sees Arwen running after her.

“I’m leaving first thing tomorrow, I have to be present for some thing Galadriel is having in Lorien, so I just wanted to say goodbye.”

“That is too bad to hear. Will you be long?”

Arwen shakes her head. “No, a month or so. I will be back after that, if I may make use of your hospitality again?”

Emma gives her a hug. “Off course. I’ll see you then.”

And then she quickly walks away, not looking back untill she reaches her chambers.

When she walks into the bedroom, she finds Thorin already in bed, half asleep. She wriggles and pulls untill she can pull down the zipper of her dress and steps out of it, kicking her shoes out, and then gets into bed. She spoons up to Thorin and pulls his strong arms around her and tries to relax.

“Not a nice dinner, I take it?” He softly says in a voice full of sleep.

Emma sighs. “I really, really don’t want to talk about it.”

Thorin pulls her closer to him and they fall asleep like that.


	42. The morning after

Emma would normally be awake for at least three hours already, but Shana has not heard a single noise come from the royal bedroom yet. When she softly opens the door, she sees Thorin’s eyes fly open while his arms tightens around Emma possesively. She quickly closes the door again and goes on with other duties.

Thorin had hoped that Emma would sleep a little bit longer so he could keep her by his side and bury his face in her hair. But the sounds of the door opening and closing have roused her and she starts to stir in his arms. When she stretches and turns to him, she smiles softly.

“Good morning.”

He chuckles when he sees her so soft and relaxed. “Did you sleep well, azyungal?”

“I did. I really feel rested.”

“That’s because it is 11.”

Emma scrambles to get up. “I was supposed to run and box and make a start in training my new horse!”

Thorin gently pulls her down again. “Whatever you wanted to do, it can wait.” He says while nuzzling into her neck.

“What got you so relaxed?!” Emma frowns. “And aren’t you supposed to hold court?”

He smiles mischievously. “I was thinking this morning: what is more important, holding court today or get my beautiful, young wife pregant? And I came to the conclusion that the latter definently has priority.”

Emma giggles, his beard tickling the sensitive skin of her neck.

“I think you still owe me something, azyungal.” He whispers in her ear.

“Really? What do I owe you?”

“I believed you said something yesterday about shoes being worth their money .”

An almost naughty smile appears on Emma’s face. “Hmmm, I did say that, didn’t I? I I think I also haven’t thanked you properly yet for the exquisite present you got me for my ball.”

“Perhaps you should then.” Thorin wispers hoarsely, his voice not doing exactly as he wants it because of the expectation of what is to come.

Emma, still in her underwear, gets up from the bed and slowly bends down to put on her shoes. Perhaps she bends a little too much from the waist, or perhaps a little too deep, to give Thorin the view he likes. When she gets ups again, she walks around the bed to his side where he is already waiting expectantly. But instead of crawling on top of him, she takes his hand and leads him to sit at the edge of the bed. Then, she sits between his legs and she slowly starts to kiss his neck while her hands run all over his torso. When her head moves down to his collarbone, her hands go up to his head, and her fingers go through his hair, softly pulling it. She sees his erection, that had been visibly present from the moment he reminded her about her promiss, become even harder, bobbing against his stomach while small rumbles erupt from deep within his chest. They become more pronounced when she moves on to his nipples. And when she finally lets the flat of her tonguerun up the underside of his cock and curls it around the head, he groans loudly. She looks up to him and a small smirk appears on her lips as she sees him with his head back, leaning on his hands. He must have noticed the change in pace, because his eyes fly open and he looks back. Without taking her eyes of his, she swirles her tonge around his dick again before taking it all into her mouth as far as she can.

His eyes widen, and before she realises it, he pulls her head off of him, gets up and bends her over the bed. As she leans on the soft sheets, her ass high in the air because of the added hight of her heels. Thorin looks at her with a predatory look. His hand runs over her asscheek before hitting it, leaving a sharp but somehow satisfying sting. He does it again to her other cheek before he pulls her upright again and loosens her bra, disgarding it on the floor. Then he kneels down and pulls down her panties. When they are bunched around her ankles, he cups her asscheeks and runs his tongue over them one by one. He gets to his feet again and with one hand on her back he pushes her back to the position where she leans on the bed. His touches are dominant and demanding and when he pushes her legs apart by nudging her feet somewhat roughly, she is not sure she likes it.

But she has no time to think about is, as he enters her with one swift, hard thrust. When he starts pounding into her, pulling and pushing her in his rhytm, she knows she doesn’t like it anymore, and she tries to get up, but she is held down by his strong hand between her shoulderblades.

“Thorin…” She tries, but she is out of breath by his powerful trusts which keep getting stronger and his groaning becomes louder.

“Thorin, please…” She says, louder now, and she finally catches his attention. When he sees her anguished face, he immediately stops and pays her down on the bed, lying next to her.

“Are you….did I…” he says with worry contorting his expression.

“No” She softly says, avoiding his gaze. “But it—it didn’t---it didn’t feel like you, like us.”

“I’m so sorry, azyungal. I thought—I mean—I thought you enjoyed it, me being a bit more---“

“I need to know what is expected, and what I can expect. I just—I don’t know---“

She feels utterly inadequate, being so inexperienced in this field. Although he has shown her a bit, she still has no idea what he likes, no idea how to satisfy him or what his desires are. Emma looks up at him, and swallows thickly. “I don’t know what you like and I don’t know what to do.” She blurts out.

Thorin chuckles and presses a kiss on her forehead. “We’ll figure it out, together. Now come, let’s get dressed and find something to eat.”

Emma frowns and looks down to his lowerd abdomen. The evidence of his arousal is still present, so she looks at his face again.

“Don’t you want to….”

He kisses her softly. “Do you ask me that because you want to or because you feel obligated?” he murmurs.

She frowns again. “Does it matter?”

“It does. To me, it does. Don’t ever feel pressured to give yourself to me.”

“I asked it because I want it. But I want you, or at least know what you’ll do.”

As he moves to lie on top of her, he whispers in her ear. “I will lie between your legs, spread them and then I’ll slowly enter you.”

His low, vibrating voice sends shivers up and down her spine, and she feels herself getting aroused.

“Then, I will hook my arms behind your knees and lift them up, so that everytime I move, I will touch that spot inside of you.”

Emma lips are parted, and she is panting at the thought of what he will do and his sultry words.

“And then I will start moving faster and faster, untill you moan my name.” He continues as she feels him enter.

She tilts her hips to meet him and allow him to enter her deeper. As he said he would, he lifts her up by her knees, and she feels him deeper inside of her than she ever has. And as he said he would, he drives her higher and higher by sliding on her spot everytime he moves. She runs her hands through his hair again, certain he likes that. He starts trusting harder and faster, looking at her face for any sign of discomfort. But there is none, only the strain of a nearing orgasm. And when she utters his name, he gives it his all, untill she goed over the edge and almost screams his name with complete abandon, going stiff before she completely relaxes and goes limb. The clenching muscles around his dick have caused extra friction, and with three more thrusts he also reaches his peak, groaning her name through his clenched jaw.

After the strain of his back muscles relaxes, he falls on all four above her, drinking in th sight of her flushed cheeks, plump lips and smaal beads of sweat on her brows. “Was that what you wanted, love?” he asks with a satisfied smirk.

She pushes him off her, but as he rolls he pulls her with him, and she ends up giggling on his chest. “It was exactly what I meant.” She says, and bites her lower lip, looking into his eyes.

With his lips, he slowly coaxes it from between his teeth and sucks on it gently. “Mine.” He whispers possesively.

“Yours.” She answers with an indulgant smile.

She lies on his chest a little longer, running her fingers through the course hair playfully.

“How was yesterday?” He asks.

Emma looks up. “It really, really sucked and there is a chance I have to do it again.”

Thorin frowns. “Again? Why?”

“Appearantely Elrond believed I was not nice enough to Eliana, even after I offered her shoes and paid her bride price, because I could no appreciate it that she was just blatantly using me to get closer to Melo. She even outright said there is no bond between us but she does have one with Melo.”

“And with did you do?”

“Why would you assume I did anything?!”

Thorin just lifts an eyebrow.

“I told her the truth. I can’t help it she didn’t raise me because they are cowards. But that wasn’t what she was upset about. She was upset that I bought the shoes after she said they were rediculously priced. That I did not listen to her. She is a typical Iron Hills dwarf; stupid and stubborn with too much pride for their own good.”

If the situation wasn’t so serious, he would laugh at her pointed characterisation. But as it is, he refrains from it. “And now?”

“Now he’ll do nothing, make me do the day over or have my hair, I don’t know. I just know that I am fed up with costly and annoying relatives.”

“Just do the day again, restrain yourself, and after that, ask them to leave, or stay, as you like.” He says, trying to placate her.

Emma groans and rolls off him, lying on her back. “If I have to do it again, I will have to spend even more money to survive.”

Thorin chuckles. “If you do, spend it on underwear.” he says with a mischievous grin.

“Underwear?” She asks seriously, with an undertone of uncertainty.

“Hmmm, underwear. The smaller the better.”

She laughs and blushes at the same time, but does plan on visiting one of the stores with the dark storefronts and small signs that only say ‘ladies store’ soon.

Thorin on the other hand is still feeling alitle guilty, and instead of going to the dining hall to have breakfast he orders one of the servants to bring it to their chambers while Emma takes a bath. When she walks out of the bathroom in a robe, there is a knock on the door. Thorin frowns, normally servants just discretely come intot he antechamber and only knock on the bedroomdoor. When he opens the door, he sees Elrond standing there, next to the cart with breakfast on it.

“Have you decided to earn your stay or is there another reason you have started to deliver breakfast?” He asks sarcastically.


	43. Family

“Besides from the obvious joy that serving you breakfast brings me, I wanted to have a word with Emma.” Elrond replies evenly sarcastic.

Thorin rolls the cart into the antechamber and then the bedroom, leaving the door open for Elrond to follow him, and tells Emma to get dressed because her father is here. The long, exagerated sigh almost makes him laugh, were it not for the slipper that is thrown in his direction when the first chuckle escapes his chest.

Once she is dressed, has quickly cleared the room of the underwear left next to the bed this morning and has taken a seat at the small table they use for having breakfast in their bedroom, she calls for Elrond to come in. When he does, she can not read any emotion from his face, and has to wait for him to speak to find out why he is here. She takes a piece of apple and nibbles on it while she waits, looking at Elrond whom is sitting opposite of her.

“So, yesterday.” He says, stretching the words.

Emma says nothing and just looks at him, and he feels a little discouraged.

“Do you want your money back?” He asks in an attempt to postpone the subject he came here to talk about.

“What money?”

“Of Eliana’s brideprice.”

“Why don’t you just take it of the money Melo has to give you for the brideprice his father got for me.” She replies sarcasically while turning all of her attention to a particularily interesting piece of pear.

When hearing this, Thorin raises his eyebrows. He knows this is a touchy subject for Emma, and to be frank, he also does not really want to discuss it. The negotiations about the price were difficult and lasted over three hours, Melos father taking advantage of the fact that he knew Thorin really wanted her and he had the funds.

“I would not wish to do such a thing, and you know that.” Elrond sputters. “And besides, I can not imagine Melo having such a sum after you paid for Eliana’s.”

Emma scoffs while Thorin let sout a small chuckle at Elrond’s statement.

“Fine, I admit it, I am curious now and I need to know. What was your bride price? What did you deem her worth, Thorin?” Elrond says curtly.

Thorin looks at Emma, knowing she doen’t want to know, but he feels his pride and worth being threatened after Elrond assuming he only paid very little for his wife. He hesitates for a moment, and the answers:

“750.000 plus a 100.000 in trade deals without the gifts.” He hadn’t meant to sound pridefull, but a little has seeped through his voice nonetheless.

Elrond’s mouth falls open while Emma looks down at her plate. It is one of the highest bride prices she has ever heard of, most topping at 500.000. Yet that still does not make her happy, for the fact remains that she was sold like an ordinary cow.

“But that…”Elrond starts after he closed his mouth. “How does that even compare to other brideprices? Why is it so much higher than Eliana’s?”

“Because Eliana already left a husband and couldn’t keep her legs together while married to him. And then she went to live with an elf while unmarried. Such things tend to lower the price.” Emma says venomously.

“Emma!” Thorin and Elrond exclaim, appaled by her words.

She shrugs her shoulders. “It’s true, isn’t it? I mean, you must have had a virginity clause in the marriage contract, didn’t you, Thorin? How much would my father have to give back if it turned out I wasn’t a virgin in the wedding night?”

“Three quarters.” Thorin admits, looking down on his plate a bit ashamed.

“There you have it, Elrond. Virginity counts for three quarters of the price. Charactre probably counts for the other 25 percents, but I doubt a father could be me made to pay back that part should the bride not be to the satisfaction of her husband.” Sarcasm is dripping off of her every word.

Elrond is a bit stunned by her attitude, but Thorin had not missed how she called Melo’s father her father again. He doesn’t know what, but something must have gone horribly wrong last night.

“But anyway, what are you doing here, Elrond? I believe I have told you you an make all appointments with Jalila.”

Elrond, still a little stunned, looks up. “I didn’t come here to make an appointment with you, why would you think that?”

“You were clear enough last night, you were not satisfied with how I acted with Eliana. So a do over, or will you have my honor for it?”

“Neither! I---Melo is having breakfast with Eliana.”

“And did you just want to share this piece of gossip or would you prefer my brother not to spend time in your chambers? I mean, we all know you don’t particularily like him.”

“No! Why are trying to put words in my mouth?! I just—I wondered why. Why are they having a nice breakfast while you and her do not seem to get along?”

“Why would you assume I know why Melo is having breakfast with your consort?”

“He’s your brother.”

“And she’s your consort. So was there anything else or could I perhaps also enjoy a nice breakfast?”

“Don’t stop him from doing this.” Elrond sas with a softness in his voice. “I know you told Eliana you do not want them to spend time together, but please, for me.”

“I said no such thing. As a matter of fact, I said I would not care if he went to live with her in Rivendel. And for the ‘for you’ part; you already said I only use you for my own benefit, only coming to Rivendel because I had nowhere else to go. So it does not sound like a compelling arguement.”

“I just—you know—O never mind! Can not take those words back but I think you know what I meant. And for Eliana and Melo, why does Eliana think she has to keep it a secret she is having breakfast with Melo?”

Emma shrugs with complete disinterest. “Don’t know, don’t care. Now, if you would excuse me, I have a busy schedule today.”

The thruth, off course, is that she can not bear to spend one more second with Elrond in a room, much less have a verbal jousting match with him. Something is different about him; he is no longer her soncere father, but instead a darker, more clouded man, and it confuses her. So she goes to the stables to finally really meet her new horse.

After a warning from the stablemaster about the ferocity of the animal, she carefully approaches it and ets it smell he rhand. It remains completely calm, so she lets it out of the stablebox, saddles it and lets it into the training area. Once she gets on the saddle, it becomes clear that the sandy training area isn’t enough fort he horse by far. It is bread for running, not trudging.

Half an hour later she flies through the moors, steering the horse with her legs an feeling the wind through her hair. Faster and faster it goes, but still paying attention tot he smallest movements her legs make.

After an hour, she feels te horse getting wet with sweat, and Emma knows it is time to turn around. The return trip is a much slower one, what gives her time to name the unstoppable beast.

**”What do you think of Teyer, hmm? It is like a combination of swift and wind. I think it suits you. Do you agree?”**

Emma is not sure if she imagines it or not, but the horse seems to nod his head in agreement.

**”Teyer it is then.”** She says with a smile, and she pats his head.

Once in the stables, she hands the reigns to the stablemaster, the poor, short-statured dwarf looking up and the huge horse and waving to his assistant to bring a ladder, and then walks over to the training pits.

To her surpise, she does not find Jeron there, so she sends one of the servants to fetch him. In the time she is waiting for him, she watches Dwalin, Elladan, Elrohir and Melo having a mock fight, Dwalin and Elrohir and Melo and Elldan together. They all fight well, but the ellegance that especially Elladan and Elrohir normally show when they are fighting is gone, and it is replaced by a more animalistic fighting style, making Emma relieved that the swords are bluntened. She sees Fili and Kili also looking at the fight, and she shares an uncertain look with them before they shrug their shoulder and go back to practicing.

Emma is startled when she feels a hand on her shoulder, but when she looks up it is Jerron.

**”I am glad to see you, we have not trained together in a while.”** The smile on his face shows hr that he is genuine in his wish to train with her, and she takes his arm to lift herself off the benches.

In the empty training pit, Jerron puts on he gloves and puts in her teethprotection, and they start slow, Emma hitting the paddles on Jerron’s hands. After a while, they want to start a match, but are disturbed by Melo entering the pit.

**”Why don’t you let me, Jerron.”** he says wth a smile on his face that doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

Jerron takes off hi own gloves and wants to give them to Melo, but he just waves the trainer away.

**”Nut your highness, you cannot---“**

**”Do I need ot be clearer, Jerron? Leave!”**

The trainer steps back, but only leaves the pit after another angry look from Melo. Melo’s raised voice at Jerron has attrackted the attention from Elladan and Elrohir, whom have now come to stand next to the boxing pit, joined there by Elrond.

Emma on the other hand keeps looking at Melo with uncertainty in her gaze. She cannot believe that he wants to fight with bare knuckles, as he knows that f he hits her like that, the damage would be many times bigger than with gloved fists.

But to her horror he does approach and takes his fighting position without gloves, and then he hits her ribs, taking advantage of her confusion.

**”Melo, what the fuck are you doing?!”** She pants while moving away from you.

A strange smile appears on his face. **”I am teaching you your place, sister. You have to fall in line.”**

**”What the---fall in line? Whatever do you mean?!”**

**”You will have to become a willing member of our family. You have to stop forbidding Eliana from meeting with me. But most of all, you have to start liking her and be with us as family.”**

Emma can do nothing else but stare at him open mouthed, and it takes a few moment for her to compose herself.

**”I have never forbidden her from meeting with you, nor would I tell you something like that. But you can not expect me to like her just because you do.”**

This appearantely does not go over well with Melo, as he corners her and hits her on the jaw. A fire of anger ignites in Emma, paired wit a slight panic from being driven into a corner. She looks at Elrond, Elladan and Elrohir, but they only smile at Melo’s actions and do nothing. So she is on her own.

**”This is how you want it, Melo? Fine, you will have it!”**

She spits out her teeth protection and opens her gloves with her teeth. Once they are off, she tosses them into a corner, and starts.

Emma makes herself a small target, protcting her face with her arms and her shoulders pulled up. But this defensive stance does not mean she does not attack. On the contrary, she hits Melo whenever she can, convinced he has finally lost his mind.

However, Melo is both taller and stronger than her, and his blows have much more impact than hers do. After a particularily painfull hit to the stomach, Emma looks up at Elrond, but again he does nothing and only smiles at Melo. Emma knows she can not last for much longer, so she calls out to Dwalin.

The captain of the guard immediately comes running from one of the other pits, flanked by Fili and Kili, and together they want to enter the pit to get Melo off Emma. But again Elrond, Elladan and Elrohir seem to act very out of charactre, as they prevent Dwalin, Fili and Kili form helping their daughter and half-sister, and roughly hold them, despite the very loud growls and curses coming from the three dwarves.

But then Thorin comes running into the training area, alerted to what is happening by Jerron the moment Melo refused to wear gloves.

“What the hell is going on here?!” The king bellowes, and everyone looks up and ceises what they were doing.

But Melo, again taking advantage of Emma’s surprise, hits her one more time, on the cheek this time, before leaving the pits. Thorin yells something in khuzdul at his soldiers, and Melo, Elldan and Elrohir are quickly overpowered and taken away.

In the chaos of the arrest of her father and brothers, Emma runs of the training area through the passageways and runs into her chambers, blinded by tears and the throbbing n the left side of her face. Sobbing, she takes off her clothes and walks into the bathroom, thinking a bath is the only thing that might in the slightest help her right now.

Thorin in the meantime has followed the soldiers to the prisons and is now looking at the biggest part of his family in law behind the bars of his cells. His mind is occupied by only two things at the moment, the first being how Emma is and the second the question of how this has come to happen.

The first thing he will check for himself in a minute, the second he wants answered right now.

“Well?!” he impatiently bellows at his prisoners slash family.

The elves haughtily ignore him, but Melo looks at him with his upper lip slightly raised and hatred in his eyes. “If he doesn’t want to listen, she will feel.”

“What?!” Thorin’s eyes widen in confusion and anger, and his fists are balled at his side.

But Melo also turns away from him, now speaking in Sindarin with the elves in hushed voices. Thorin knows right now he will not get to know anything more, she he turns on his heels and swiftly walks to his chambers, suspecting that is where Emma has gone . He hears her small sobs coming from the bathroom, and finds her sitting ith her back to the door and her knees pulled up to her chest, much like she did in their wedding night.

As it has worked before, he figueres it is bes to just go sit with her and try if she can shine a light on this matter.

“They have all gone mad, Thorin.” Emma says to him with a big sigh. “Something or someone has brought out all of their darkest selves intot he light.”

A shiver runs up Thorin’s spine, thinking back on the time that something took over his mind and brought out the worst in him. But for now he pushes the thought away and instead forces himself to look at Emma’s face. He tilts it up with a gentle finger under her chin and sees the purplish bruises starting to form on the bones of her jaw and cheek. At this moment, it is too hard for him to approach this matter with feelings, so he just asks about the physical sie of things.

“Any teeth loose?”

“No, thank Mahal they are all still in place.”

“Any pain when you speak, or a feeling of broken bones?”

After a headshake from Emma, he looks at the rest of her body, untill his eyes fall on her side. He gently pushes on her ribs, but does not feel any loose bones, though the bruises on her ribs and stomach look like the force that caused them could have easily shattered them.

“What have you done with them?” She whispers as his inquisitive look on her naked body becomes too much.

Thorin clenches his jaw, frustrated Emma still empathizes with people that have done something like this to her.

“I have put them in a cell. But you are right, there is something very strange going on here.”

“I need to speak to Eliana, she might know what is going on. But I need you to come with me in case she has done some strange magic or something.”

“No Emma, you are not going to go see her. What if she curses you or something?! No, you will leave Erebor for a while untill I have cleared this up.”

Emma thinks for a while. She knows why Thorin is reacting so strongly. No one who knows Thorin even a little has not heard of his goldsickness and what it caused him to do, how it changed him. He has never spoken or even hinted about it, perhaps hoping she doesn’t know, but she knows how he still worries about it and she will not go against his will in something that torments him as much as this does.

“I will do as you want, Thorin, but please let me speak to Eliana first. She is the key to all of this, she might be able to stop it.”

“And then? What of your safety, Emma? And what of me? What if the thing she does makes us change?”

In this moment, Thorin is more afraid than he has ever been in his whle life. No childhood demons lurking in closets at night, no Azog and no dragon is as terrifying as him getting goldsickness again. Last time, he had almost killed his best friend and let his cousin die at the battlefield while fighting Erebor’s war. What if it happens again, and what if he harms Emma? She has grounded him so far, kept him steady even with all the drama that has been going on, his mind has rarely wondered off to the hoards of gold under his mountain in the time they have been married, but what if the witchcraft Eliana is clearly casing on everyone around her will turn his mind back to the gold and the gems?

His fearfull thinking is interrupted by Emma’s hand softly stroking his face.

“They never came near your gold, not is their obsession with riches.” She whispers.

So she knows. She knows what happened to him, and yet, she is still here and she was still willing to bond with him.

“No, that is true. But that doesnt mean you’re safe.”

“I promiss I will leave if you le me speak to her. And tell me where I’ll go.”

“Where? I haven’t really thought about that. Iron Hills?”

“No!”

Thorin thinks for a moment. Her home is out, as he does not know if Melo has done any damage there. And fort he same reason, Rivendel, and Lothlorien by connection, are also out. Dale is too near and the Blue Mountains too far. And he has no connections in Gondor or Rohan that he trusts enough to take care of his wife.

“I have no idea.” He finally admits with an exasperated sigh.

“I’ll go to the Mirkwood. Thranduil has already said he is willing to train me, so I’ll doubt he’ll mind if I come to stay for a while.”

“The—with that three---All by your----“

“Relax Thorin, and breath. If you calmly think about it, it is the logical thing to do. No one will suspect I’m there, and Thranduil’s secrecy will make sure no one will know.”

“By yourself?!”

“I can bring my handmaidens, and Fili or Kili. Please Thorin, dont send me somewhere I don’t want to go.” Emma pleads in a soft voice.

“Fine, as you like, azyungal---“ But his surrender is interrupted by a loud gasp from Emma:

“O no, I can not leave untill Saturday! I have to go to Sigrid’s ball, with Fili!”

“Do I want to know?” An exhausted Thorin groans.

“Yes, no, I will explain it all once. But it is important I attend the ball, with Fili, or people will start to suspect things. Perhaps I can go to the Mirkwood right after?”

“Fine. But you understand that means that I will also lock Eliana away after you speak to her? I can not have her running around here while you haven’t left yet.”

Emma shrugs, completely uninterested in her mother’s fate, but also to keep up appearances; to hide her true feelings. But she should have known that doesn’t work. Not with Thorin, and certainly not after their bonding. He somehow feels or senses her emotions almost as clearly as if they were drawn out for him.

“Are you alright, Emma?” Thorin tentatively asks.

Upon hearings those words, Emma shrinks a little and tries to turn away from Thorin. But he doesn’t let her retreat into her shell, not this time. He wraps his arms around and pulls her onto his lap like one would with a small child.

“How are you?” he murmers to her once he has settled her in a comfortable position.

Thorin feels the small sobs erupting from her chest before he hears them, and he pulls her even closer into his embrace, simply holding her untill she has calmed down enough to talk.

“My brother beat me. Not once. Not out of anger. But with his fists, and calculating. My brother, whom has killed for me, beat me. And my father and other brothers just watched, encouraging him with their smiles.”

It is a simple statement, a summary of the facts, but within it it held a world of betrayal and pain, something no one would be able to take away from her. Thorin also knows this, and he doesn’t even attempt to try. He can only give her his love, and his ear. But he is her husband, not her father nor her brother. Especially not her brother, for the bond Emma and Melo share, or used to share, is something that still mesmerises him. It once seemed to be about love between two siblings that came from a difficult home, about sacrifice and about keeping eachother from drowning. But now Melo had not only not kept her from drowning, but he had actively pushed her under water.

“He has, and they will be punished for it. But I—I can’t do or say anything to make it better.”

Emma snuggles up to him closer, one hand on his chest and the other around his waist. After a while he thinks she has fallen asleep, she sits so quietly and motionless, but when he moves a little to stop the tingles in his sleeping leg, she carefully slides off his lap and gets up.

“I’m going to talk to Eliana now.”


	44. 3791

While walking through the dimly litted corridors, Thorin thinks he will endure a lifetime of sleeping legs if he could have remained still in the bath, his breathing and heartbeat perhaps lulling Emma to sleep after the emotional exhaustion. But he didn’t and now he possibly has to face his biggest fear so that his wife doesn’t have to face that danger alone.

Emma doesn’t bother knocking on the door, and doesn’t wait to be announced. Instead, she walk straight to the room where she hears soft murmering coming from. When she opens the door to Elrond’s and Eliana’s bedroom, she finds Eliana sitting on the side of the bed, hunched over something she holds in her hand, softly and lovingly speaking to it.

>”Mine. Forever mine and no one elses. We’’ll always be together, precious love of mine. We’ll never be apart.”<

Like a tiger, Emma lunges forward and snatches whatever is in Eliana’s hand from her, clutching it in her own fist without as much as looking at it. Her mother jumps up, and for a moment her face seems to be distorted into demonic-like features and she tries to attack Emma, swinging at her with bent fingers, her nails like claws, all the while screeching and howling.

But Thorin quicly steps in and with a well aimed slap against her cheek, Eliana is stopped from doing Emma any actual harm as she falls back on the bed. Thorin holds her there, and her wiggling and wrestling to get free are no match for Thorin’s strength build up through years and years of battle training.

While Eliana is restrained on the bed, Emma looks at the trinket Eliana was holding in her hand. It is an ordinary golden ring, not even a good quality gold, 14 carat at the most. There is no inscription, no marking of the goldsmith who made it and no stamp to indicate the percentage of gold. It appears worthless really, especially to someone used to getting gifts made of mythril and gems from a generous husband. But something stirs in Emma’s mind, something burried deeply beneath a pile of other small facts and figueres from the history lessons she had.

She holds the ring between thumb and forefinger and raises it to eyelevel, so study it more closely, but also to hold it up for Eliana to see.

“What is it, Eliana? What is it that this ring does?”

“It is nothing!” Eliana snaps at her, still struggling against Thorin’s hold.

“Nothing? So you won’t mind me throwing it in the fire?” Emma calmly replies with a mocking smile.

And after Eliana just turns her head from Emma, ignoring her, Emma does just that. At the sight of her ring in the flames, Eliana struggles so hard it even costs Thorin all his strenth to keep her controlled, while Emma stares into the fire, fascinated by what she sees. The gold doesn’t melt like it would normally do, nor is it affected by the fire in any other way. There is no black sheen of sood forming on it, the is no reddening to show heating of the material. And when she takes it out of the fire, it is as cool to the touch as it was before. There is only one difference. A major difference. After being taken out of the fire, writing starts to appear on the side. One might think it is elvish, but Emma knows better; it is not elvish, it is the dark, black language of the orcs.

And then it starts to dawn on her. The orcs did not invent their language themselves, but rather learned it form their master, the dark lord, the wielder of the one ring, Sauron. What she is holding in her hand is the one ring of power, the one that rules them all. She frowns, trying to remember what was said about it.

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne, In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie, One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

 

This would explain it all, the obsession Eliana has, the way Elrond, Elladan, Elrohir and Melo follow her, how everyone has changed and the way their dark side has come out. But yet, it is almost impossible to believe. The One ring has been lost for a long, very long time. So long even, that it’s very existance is believed to be a myth by some, a mere cautionairy tale.

Not the dwarves though, and not Emma. They are a long-lived race with very long memories, hers esecially. She knows the ring is real, but cannot grasp how Eliana would get a hold on a piece of such magnitude. When she looks back, she sees Eliana and Thorin both staring at the ring, their mouths slighly parted and their wide eyes gleaming with the reflection of the flames.

Emma immediately knows the ring has to disappear again, forever this time. She knows it cannot be destroyed; Isildur should have done that, but he let greed take the better of him and kept it. She would not be so deluded, and without further ado or even a word, Emma leaves the chambers and disappears into one of the passageways where no one can follow her. She needs a moment to think about where to hide the ring. It can not be too close to her, or anyone she loves, as she fears they may be infected by the vile nature of the ring, as it had her father and brothers. But is does need to be a controlled space, that is not easily entered by others.

Animals. Animals are not influenced by evil powers. Well, most of them, some _are_ just evil powers. But horses are not vulnerable to the rings influence, and she just happens to have a very reliable stallion. With a smile, she makes her way tot he stables, carefull not to let anyone see her. And she is in luck, as the stablemaster is nowhere in sight and she can make her way to Teyer;s stablebox.

She strokes the horse’s nose and flank, and whispers to him:

**”I have something I have to hide, something dangerous, something powerfull. Can you keep it safe for me?”**

The horse slightly tilts it’s head.

**”It does bad things to people, but I know you’re not foolish enough to fall for it. So I need you to keep an eye on it. Be the guard, sort of speak. Will you?”**

The horse nods and, even though Emma still can’t fully believe he understands her, much less communicates with her, she goes to the back of the saddlebox, pushes aside the hay and digs into the mud underneath it. Once she thinks she has dug deep enough, she jumps puts the ring in the hole and puts the mud back and the hay over it. Then, after petting Teyer a little more, she goes back to her chambers through the same passageways she came, and her whole venture went unnoticed by anyone.

While Emma was busy hiding the single most dark object in Middle Earth, she still can’t believe it is what she thinks it is, Thorin brought a broken Eliana to the prison cells on the lowest level of Erebor. He puts her with her familymembers, and after closing the door to the cell, he takes a chair and sits in front of the cell, staring at the people inside it through the bars.

Half an hour later or so, he finally adresses them:

“Most here in Erebor know the depth of my feelings for my wife. So there aren’t many that would harm her, for fear of my wrath or consideration for my feelings.”

Another pause, filled with contemplation from Thorin’s side and nervous anticipation from his prisoners.

“So this situation is unprecedented, and I am at a loss of what to do. Should I punish you as I would anyone who harms the queen? Or should I take your relation to Emma into account?”

Thorin thinks again, and observes his prisoners. Their attitude seems to have changed from defiant and arrogant to a demure type of shame. They no longer hold their heads up, and no longer look at him with a fire of rage in their eyes. Perhaps the influence of whatever evil Eliana’s ring held is already starting to deminish, or perhaps they are just starting to see the error of their ways. Thorin doesn’t know. And decisions made on uncetainty are never sound ones, to his experience.

His ponderings are disturbed by the sound of Melo’s croaked voice.

“You should punish us as you would any other.”

Thorin’s head jerks up and he looks at his brother in law. Especially from him he had expected excuses for his behavior, boring explanations as to why it happened and finally a deference of responsability to someone, anyone, else. But here Melo is, standing in a dirty cell, his skincolor slightly greyish and with a bit of despair in his eyes and a voice croaked from grief asking him to basically kill him. How ironic that the thing he wanted to do for many months is now offering itself at a silver platter. Right now, in a moment he cannnot act on his desires.

“Emma has judged you before, to her best abilities, she assured me. Perhaps she should do it again.”’With that, he gets up and puts the chair back where he found it. He takes a last look at his family in law. For months he has quietly, or not so quietly in some cases, resented them, hated them and wished them to a deep and dark corner of Middle Earth. But he sees them at their lowest now, and he can’t help but feel a little pity for them.


	45. Sigrid

“Do you think I should bring my Rivendel wardorbe or would the Mirkwood elves prefer my regular clothes?”

A few days after the incident Emma and her handmaidens are standing in Emma’s closet, trying to decide what to pack for her stay with Thranduil. They have already settled on the training clothes, that was the easy part. All her leather pants with cashmere tunics in matching colors. But for dresses and evening wear? Emma is uncertain; she has only ever seen Thranduil and Legolas in formal wear, no female elves from the Mirkwood.

“Just pack it all. She finally says with a weary wave of her hand. But leave the black ballgown and the purple shoes out, I will wear them to Sigrid’s ball tonight.”

While her handmaidens start packing, Emma walks over to Fili and Kili’s chambers, a small smile shadowing on the corners of her mouth. After she is let in by Fili’s, or kili’s perhaps, valet, she is informed that Fili and Kili are still getting dressed but will be out in a minute. So she sits down on one of the comfortable sofa’s in the antechamber and looks around.The lay out is a copy of her own chambers, only smaller. And where her dining room is, is a bedroom here, she doesn’t know whether it is Fili’s or Kili’s. The decoration is very different though. It is masculin, as one would expect from chambers inhabited by two male bachelors, but tastefull. A lot of dark wood, combined with natural tones. Fo a second time Emma thinks her chambers look much worse than others, and that she should redecorate.

A few moment later, Fili comes walking into the antechamber, his hair still wet and fizzing around his head. He runs his hand through it, trying to flatten it a bit.

“It looks more normal once it is dry.” He says shyly, probably ashamed of his appearance.

Emma grins. “I should hope so for you. Especially tonight.”

Fili raises his eyebrows in question. “Tonight?”

“Tell me, Fili, might there be a girl you have a more than average interest in?”

Fili, skilled warrior that he might be, turns bright red, rubbing his neck and looking down a bit.

“O come on, Fili. You can tell me!”

“Fine, there might be someone, but she---she—I don’t think uncle would find her suitable. Nor do I know whether she might be interested in me or not.”

“And why would she be unsuitable?”

“She is not a—“Fili seems to realise what he is about to say and to whom, and swallows the last word, although it is already chrystalclear what that word would have been.

“You can say it, Fili. She is not a dwarf so you fear Thorin will not approve.”

“I am supposed to provide spares.” Fili murmers while turning his back to her, unwilling to see her face as he states the cold facts of royal life.

What could have been a very deep and very unpleasant conversation, is turned back to an airy one as Emma informs Fili that she is going to Sigrid’s ball tonight and that Thorin is unable to escort her and Kili would be bored by himself.

Fili spins around, his eyes wide and his mouth open. “How do you know?” he blurts out.

Emma shrugs her shoulders. “I did not know about your feelings, though I certainly do now. But I know of hers.”

“She----“ Just in this moment they are disturbed by Kili leisurely walking into the room, his hair also still wet and just as messy as always.

“Emma, what are you doing here? Were you waiting for me to arrange something for our trip?”

Emma smiles as if nothing had happened. “No, I came to invite Fili to join us tonight. Otherwise you and him will both be terribly bored.”

“Are you also coming to the Mirkwood, brother?” Kili asks excitedly.

But Fili shakes his head. “No, just tonight. Uncle needs me for some things later in the week.”

Kili wants to starts rambling on, but Emma quickly cuts in; she has no time to listen to him. “Fili, would you mind helping me pick a present for Sigrid?”

Fili gives her a curt nod, trying to hide the excitement from his brother. Emma notices it, and almost frowns. Usually Fili and Kili share everything; they even shared a bedroll and their blankets during the journey. But thruth be told, she never heard them speak about women, not the love kind and not the paying-for kind. Perhaps this is the one thing they don’t share. Either that, or Fili somehow feels shame about his affections.

Anyhow, it doesn’t matter as they walk into Balin’s office, notifying him they are entering the treasury. The white bearded dwarf nods with a knowing smile and they proceed to the treasury. After Erebor was retaken, Balin had assembled a trustworthy and level-headed team and had set himself to the task or bringing order in the chaos of the countless piles of gold, gems and other valuables. Now, several connecting halls held different types of valuables. Golden coins, loose gems, jewelry, pieces of art; they all had their own hall.

Fili and Emma walk to the hall that holds all the jewelry. Some exquisite pieces, such as the necklace made of starlight gems, are displayed in glass boxes, while other just lay on shelves. Fili walks throuhg the rows of shelves, sometimes picking up a piece but putting it back after a short glance, all the while being observed by Emma. After half an hour or so, she walks over to him.

“What is it you want to achieve with this present?” She softly asks while putting her hand on his forearm.

Fili looks up from the necklace he was looking at. “One gives a present at such things. It is customary. And perhaps make my—interest known.”

“If you want her to know of your interest, and perhaps build on that, would it not be better to give her something she can see herself? And not only in the mirror, but all the time, making her think of you.”

Fili blushes again, but Emma ignores it. “A bracelet would bet he best choice.”

“Did uncle gift you a bracelet?”

“He did not. But our courting was just for appearances. I already knew I would be seeing him daily for the rest of my life.”

The answer confuses Fili, as it sounds a bit bitter, so he just turns his attention back to the jewelry. “Something like this?” He asks while holding up a heavy, wrought gold bracelet that resembles a snake.

Emma shakes her head. “Human girls don’t like that type of heavy pieces, and Sigrid is built too fine to properly wear it. You need something more delicate.” She looks around, going back two rows, and then picks out the piece she was looking for. “Something like this.”

She shows Fili the gold charm bracelet. Instead of actual charms, the pieces hanging from the chains of the bracelet are mid-sized sapphires with small holes in them, like Emma’s hair diamonds have.

“This, she will love. And perhaps you can add some real charms the next time you see her.”

Fili, having enough of feeling embarassed, just grisses the bracelet from her hand and quickly walks out of the treasury, followed by a snickering Emma. She goes to her own chambers, trying to find Thorin.

“Here you are!’ she exclaims with a blush on her cheeks from running around half of Erebor and finally finding him in the training pits, observing the progress the new recruits for the army are making.

“Yes, gehyith, I am. But shouldn’t you be getting dressed?”

“No, I don’t have to leave in another two hours, so I have some time left, and I thought you could tell me to whom I can go for out redecorating?”

“We’re redecorating?”

“It is long overdue. Fili and Kili’s chambers are nicer than ours. The guest chambers are nicer than ours. I can imagine even the mines are better looking than our chambers. We need to redecorate. So I want to start the works while I am gone, and then I can finish it when I get back.” Emma is starting to sound a bit manic, and Thorin and Dalin glance at eachother, trying to hide their worry.

“So we’ll redecorate. Why don’t I just walk with you to our chambers and we can discuss what you want done.”

“Great, Emma says with a beaming smile, and she all but pushes Thorin towards their chambers.

Arrived there, Emma starts rambling about what has to be done, what should be done, and what she wants done, how the color scheme should be, what type of furniture they should get and how her closet should like like. She even goes as far as to describe the type of stone that she wants for the bathroom. When she starts about the age the wolves from whom the furs for on the ground should have, Thorin cuts in.

“Emma, why don’t you tell me what this is really about. I understand you want to redecorate, but now? Two hours before your departure?”

“Why not? I mean, I have nothing else to do, and then when I come back, we can make a fresh new start.”

Now it dawns on Thorin. This is not really about redecorating, but more about keeping her mind occupied so she does not have to think about other things, her family mainly. That would explain the many projects she has startd on in the past coupl of days. He crooks an eyebrow and looks at her, wordlessly showing his disbelief.

“What?!” She says innocently.

“There will come a moment that you will have nothing to distract yourself with, and then you wll have to face the situation at hand.”

Emma looks down at her feet and chews on her cheek again. Then, she sighs deeply. “I can not make a decision on this, Thorin.”

His face hardens, as he fears what is to come. “If not you, then who?”

Emma looks up at him, pleading to him wordlessly. But then he slowly shakes his head. “It would not be fair, Emma. I am not unbiased, I---“

“Then forget it was about me, pretend it was someone else!” She interrupts him, feeling a denial coming.

“I have to admit it isn’t merely the fact that they did it to you, I---you know my feelings about your brother. And for your father, I met him before we married, in Rivendel. He did not speak kindly about me and he wounded my pride, and if I’m being honest, I do not know if I like having him here; an elf in the royal Erebor court. So me judging them would be unfair, as much as I would want it.”

“But I---“

“You would come to regret it, and I think you know that.”

Emma turns her back to him and stares at the furniture of the diningroom they are currently in. “You are right, I should get dressed.” She says after a brief moment, and walks to the bedroom where she rings for her handmaidens.

Jalila, Shana and Mina walk into the bedroom moments later and start dressing Emma in a rather tight fitting, black dress that flares out around her knees and ends in a small train. The bustline follows the outline of her breasts, with a rather large amount of clevage. On itself, it would have raised some tongues, but Jalila drapes a black fur stole around her shoulders that adds an amount of decency. Last, she steps into her purple pumps which are complemented by a choker with several large amethysts.

When she steps out of the bedroom, she finds Thorin gone. He has gne to his nephews to explain exactly, and in very clear words, how he expects them to take care and protect Emma, especially Kili. His nephews took his words laughingly at first, but seeing just how serious their uncle is, they hold their snickers and chuckles and assure the king his queen will be delivered back to him in exactly the same state, if not better, as she is now.

Somewhat confident his nephews will actually keep their word, Thorin sends them to the entrance to oversee the loading of Emma’s luggage on the carriage and goes back to his wife himself. As he enters their corridor, she just walks out of the door of their chambers, and he has to hold himself back to refrain from moaning. She is a vision of the new generation of dwarrowdams. Her enticing figure wrapped tightly in her satin dress and her few pieces of jewelry pulling attention to her—well, her assets. He offers his arm and she softly puts her hand on it. Like that, followed by her handmaidens, he leads her to the carriage. When everyone has gotten in, Fili and Kili riding their horses, feeling too manly to sit with the women in a carriage, she also starts walking to the carriage. But then she turns around:

“Thorin, I---I don’t---“

She wants to tell him how much she doesn’t want to go, how much she just wants to stay with him. The only time she had been somewhat alone was on the journey, after she had left the company, and the nights in those months had been terribly lonely. Before she was married she had always had her handmaidens sleeping either in her room or in an adjoining room with the door open so she could hear them. And after they got married she of course always had him. But staying in the Mirkwood, it would we a bit srange for a queen to have her handmaidens sleeping in her room. The most influential woman of two kingdoms not able to sleep alone? That would certainly be a joke. But it was being away from Thorin that she feared he most.

Thorin cupped her face and pressed his forehead to hers. “It will be alright, gehyith.I promise.”

“Send them away, Thorin. Send my brother back home to rule in my stead and send Elrond and his family back to Rivendel.”

Thorin pulls back from her touch and looks at her intendly.

“Are you sure, Emma? Once done, it cannot be undone.”

“Nothing I choose can be undone, except let them rot in your prison. But who would wish that on family, no matter what they have done?”

‘It will be done, Emma. Now go and enjoy the coming two weeks. If nothing strange happens, I will let them go.”

He kisses her one more time and then leads her to the carriage, where her handmaidens are patiently waiting for her. Shana and Mina are in for an evening of sitting in the servants quarters while Jalila has to stand in some corner of the ballroom with all the other assistants in case Emma needs anything, but none of them seems to mind. They are rather more happy to leave the mountain for a bit and visit the Mirkwood. So when they ride away from Erebor, their chatter takes Emma’s mind off of missing Thorin and the future of her family.

A little later they arrive at Bard’s palace in Dale, and Fili and Kili help Emma out of her carriage, followed by her handmaidens who fall behind five steps and go to their appointed places whe they enter. Several guards walk in front and behind them and Emma notices with a small smile that Thorin has sent his personal guards instead of the palace guards.

They walk in first, though without drawing attention to themselves, and take their place at strategic positions in the ballroom.

Emma, Fili and Kili’s entrance however does not go so unnoted, the naming of their titles taking longer than the act of them walking in. Emma looks around and sees a wealthily appointed ballroom. The floor is laid-in with the best quality of oiled oak and the walls are adorned with gold-plated trimming and creme colored wallpaper. The gold colored chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling cast a warm light on the guests and is reflected in their jewelry. There is a dais with four gold plated and heavily decorated thrones made of carved wood on one side of the room, the biggest one no doubtedly for Bard.

But Sigrid and her family are nowhere to be seen, so the Erebor royals just take their seat, not minding the curious looks they get from many of the other guests. Everyone has of course heard of Thorin Oakenshield reclaiming his throne, and therewith giving Bard the chance to become the famous ‘bowman’ in the process. However, they have also heard of Thorin’s goldsickness, the madness at the battle and of course the rumours about Emma’s familyline. They talk amongst themselves a bit, but Fili is nervous about giving Sigrid her present, Emma is thinking of Thorin and Kili seems to be withdrawn into his thoughts for some other reason, though no one seems to know what that reason is.

So when the trumpets announce the entrance of the royal family of Dale, they are all startled out of their thoughts. But they manage to get up and clap, as do all the others present. Emma steels herself to look at Sigrid. She is happy to see that the princess is wearing the burgondy red shoes she bought her, which are complemented by roses in the same color braided into Sigrid’s hair and a small ruby on a delicate chain around her neck. He rather tight fitting dress shows her strong points and would have given a rather large view into her clevage, were it not for the lace that covers the space between her breasts and her neck and her arms. A train of around a meter complements the garment and adds to her beautiful posture.

Emma quickly glances over to Fili, and sees him staring at her rather obviously, his mouth hangs open and his eyes are a little wider than they normally are. She discretely scapes his throat, and Fili snaps out of his spell, quickly closing his mouth and smiling apologetically at Emma.

Once they are seated, all the guest line up to congratiolate Bard and Sigrid and give her their presents. Emma also walks to the line, followed by Fili and Kili, but due to their staus, they do not have to wait, as everyone else steps aside to let them go first.

“Congratiolations, Sigrid, may many years follow.” Emma formally says before smiling at her neighbour. “You really look astonishing. I hope you will enjoy tonight.” Then she turns to Bard : “And of course or congratiolation to you as well, Bard, you must be very proud.”

While Dale’s king tilts his head, Sigrid smiles widely and murmurs a ‘thank you’, but she can’t help casting small glances at Fili. The crown prince himself waits for Emma to be done and then gives Sigrid a small bow.

“Many congratiolations on your birthday, princess Sigrid. I hope my—Erebor’s gift will do you justice.”

Although Sigrid politely answers: “I am sure it will, prince Fili.” None of them missed Fili’s slip of the tongue, the prince himself least of all, and his face changes into a dark hue of red. So after Kili has also congratiolated the princess and King, Fili quickly walks back to their table, followed by his snickering family members.

They do spare him a more thorough drilling though, and leave him to his thoughts while Kili tells Emma all about the other guests, of whom he knows most, and fills her in on the best pieces of gossip. But then, their soft laughs are interupted by Thranduil arriving at th ball and walking over to their table. Were the comments of other guests almost inaudible when the Durin’s arrived, it it much louder, though still not at a rude level, when Thranduil walks in, followed by one of his guards.

“Queen Emma, prince Fili, prince Kili, good to see you all. May I join you later?”

“Most certainly, king Thranduil, we would be delighted.” Emma says politely, cutting off both princes from the no doubt much ruder reply they had in mind.

With another tiny nod, Thranduil leaves them to go and congratiolate Sigrid, the other guests stepping aside for him as they had done for the Durin’s. He stoicly offers his well wishes while his guard hands Sigrid her present, and then he strides, though it looks like he glides, back to Emma.

“So you are to come stay with me for two weeks?” he says blandly

“Only if I am welcome, of course. If I in any way impose too much on your schedule or hospitality too much, I hope you will not hesitate to let me know.”

“You are most welcome, of course. I am happy to help a neighbour in need.” The look on his face makes Fili and Kili douby his words very much, but they do not say anything, as he continues: “I do wonder why it is that your father has asked my to train you, yet it was Thorin who asked me to make good on that promise.”

“I do not know how everything was arranged exactly.” Emma says flatly, the intonation of her words matching her facial expression.

“And now I have heard rumors that your father, your mother and all three of your brothers are missing. No one has seen them in several days, though there are some Erebor guards that, while under the influence of some nice Dalish beer, have been talking about royal prisoners.”

Fili and Kili have started to get up from their chairs, ready to take Emma away at any moment.

“So that interesting piece of gossip, combined with Thorin’s suden insistance that you come to stay with me, guarded only by one of his nephews instead of the delegation of your family I was expecting, leads me to believe somethign very unpleasant has come to pass in Erebor. Am I right?”

“I can not answer that without knowing what you consider unpleasant, king Thranduil.”

He elegantly shrugs his shoulder. “You know, the usual: violent family fights and such.”

Emma clenches her jaw, unable to hide her emotions. “You know too much, Thranduil, and I really wonder who gives you all of this information.”

He smirks. “I bet you do. But do not worry, I will not share it with the rest of the world.”

From the corner of her eye Emma sees the crowd moving to the sides of the dancefloor. Appearantely everyone has congratiolated Sigrid and the dancing can begin. Sigrid and her father open the ball and he expertly leads her around the floor in a walz. Emma can’t help but wonder where he has learned to dance like that. A simple fisherman surely has no need for such dancing skills, yet he doesn’t move like he only recently learned the steps. She is taken out of her ponderings by Thranduil holding out his hand.

“A dance, queen Emma?”

Emma is about to take Thranduil’s hand when Fili gets up and swiftly takes it. “I think we should dance first, sister.”

Emma frowns. Even though they get along very well, more like brother and sister than as aunt and nephew, he has never called her sister. She suspects he does it to reming Thranduil of her family ties, and to let him know not to overstep certain boundaries. But she takes Fili’s hand nonetheless, and nods apologetically to Thranduil.

“Perhaps the next one?” She asks him.

He tilts his head with a smug smirk and turns his attention to the rest of the room while Fili escorts Emma to the dancefloor. There, he carefully places his hand on her waist and takes her right hand in his left. They start to dance, quickly falling into line with the other pairs.

“I made an ass of myself, didn’t I?”

Emma chuckles. “Nah, I think it was jus the right thing. Enough to let her know you’re interested, but not too much. Especially with her father sitting next to her. And you hapen to be in the perfect setting to make up for it.”

“Huh?”

“Have you gone dense or something?! Ask her for a dance!”

He looks at her doubtfully “You think?”

“Yes! As soon as her and her father are done with this dance, you’ll walk over to her and ask her.”

“And you?”

“I’ll always have Kili. And Thranduil.”

“Uncle doesn’t want to to be too friendly with him. He has told us to keep an eye on you.”

Emma laughs hartily, it really sounds like a thing Thorin would do. “I promiss not to be too kind to him.”

Despite her amusement, Fili is still in doubt. His uncle would not be too happy with Emma dancing with Thranduil. If he were any younger, he would have resolutely said no, in fear of a tanning. But he knows he cannot leave Erebor’s queen sitting at a table without dancing; she would look like wallflower. He weighs his options, but is pushed in one direction as he sees Sigrid and Bard leaing the dancefloor. With a bow, he ends his dance with Emma and quickly brings her back to their table and almost sprints to the dais to ask Sigrid before someone else does.

“Princess Sigrid, would you honor me with a dance?” He asks her while holding out his hand.

She nods and gets up, but Fili first turns to her father. “With your leave, king Bard?”

The king of Dale is looking uncharacteristically sour, though this expression has not been limited to Fili asking Sigrid to dance. He has been sporting a near-growl almost all evening, not even dancing with his daughter has visibly brought him joy. When asked he would not admit it to anyone, as he is the first to proclaim that children should have the fredom to live their life as they want to, but his unhappiness is caused by the tough that dawned om hint his afternoon: he is holding this ball to basically invite men to ask Sigrid to court them. And deep inside, he doesn’t want anyone to court his Sigrid. It would only lead to her leaving his house to go live with an unworthy asshole, because in his opinion no one is worthy of Sigrid. And any man that wants to take her away from him is an asshole, and become unhappy. Or die in childbirth, as his wife had, one of both. So nothing good can come of this evening, nothing at all. And now there is a cheeky dwarf asking to dance with her. Bard has to admit to himself that the Durin’s are a good family to marry into; recent events have shown him that they handle their familyproblems by, eventually, showing their love for eachother. And as every family has problems, though the Durin’s perhaps more than other families, love is important. But still, his uncle went mad once and has his former mistress and his illegitimate child living so close to his wife. His brother is secretly courting an elf, and secretly courting is a clear sign of disrespect, because who knows what might happen at the meetings between Kili and Tauriel. And then his aunt, whom is actually younger than Fili himself. Her brother is a rapist and she has used some backdoor politics to get him cleared of all charges. And now most of her family is missing, rumoured to be in Thorin’s prisons. Powerfull as they may be, they are a right mess and certainly not good enough for his Sigrid.

During the rant in his head, Bard had forgotten that Fili was still waiting for his permission, and he quickly but curtly nods as he sees the dwarven prince still standing in front of him. When he sees his daughter’s expression during the dance with Fili, he curses so violently inside his head that it would even make the roughest fisherman ashamed. Because instead of polite but shallow interest, he sees her looking at the cheeky basterd with clear signs of infatuation. He just slouches down his throne a little more and again curses the day he smuggled those dwarves into Laketown.

“A dance before I leave, Emma?”

Emma had been observing Bard and his reaction to Fili asking Sigrid, so she is a little startled. “Are you leaving so early?”

“Yes, it would raise questions if we left together and I loathe these ball things. Before long, everyone will start singing their annoying songs and give me a headache.”

“The headache comes from the massive amouns of wine you consume, not the songs.” She answers dryly while taking his held up hand. Kili had left them as soon as she started to dance with Fili, so there is no one to stop her.

“You may think it is funny now, but I dare to bet you will regret this sort of remarks when your training starts.” Thranduil replies with a smirk.

They have reached the dancefloor and despite his cold appearance, he is a practiced dancer. Emma does not need to think of the steps herself, so well he leads. Perhaps that’s his dominance shining through, she thinks.

“My training? Why would I regret it during my training?”

“Your ada may not be able to be harsh enough to get you into shape, but have no doubt I can be.”

“I do not think there is anyone in this world or the next that would doubt such a thing.” She replies sarcastically.

But Thranduil does not respond; he doesn’t have to, his smirk speaks for itself.

After their dance, he takes his leave and Emma goes to look for Kili. She finds him wandering through the corridors adjoing the ballroom. Instead of asking him what he is doing, something she doesn’t really want to know, she gets him back to the dance and together they persuade Fili to cease his dancing with Sigrid by sending him insistant glares which become more urgent as more time passes. Finally, he escorts her back to her father, whom is looking more miserable than ever and after saying their goodbyes and thanking Bard for his hospitality, they leave. Emma and Kili for the Mirkwood and Fili back to Erebor where a no doubt very grumpy uncle is waiting for him.


	46. The Mirkwood

“Nephew,come sit with me and help me think.”

Thorin waves Fili into his office after having a guard bring him there immediately after he came back from the ball.

“Uncle?”

“It is about this whole thing with Melo and Elrond and his family. Emma has asked me to let them go, send them home or something. What do you think I should do?”

Fili stares at his uncle open-mouthed. He can count the number of times his uncle has asked him for his advice on one hand, and in all those cases his uncle knew what he was going to do and he just wanted to test Fili. But this time seems different; the tired tone in which his uncle speaks and the fron on his brows betry that he perhaps also doesn’t know what to do.

“I’m not sure uncle, I don’t know the whole story. I only know Melo, Elrond, Elladan and Elrohir went nuts and attacked Emma. But I have no idea why.”

“Emma seems to think Eliana put them up to it, and all were under the influence of some sort of magical ring.”

“But why, uncle? Melo adores his sister, and even though this whole thing between Elrond and Emma hasn’t always gone smoothly, they seem to like eachother well enough, same with his sons.”

“Yes, but not with Eliana. That foolish Elrond should never have asked her to spend to day with Eliana as payment, half-wit.”

“Payment for what, uncle?” Fili interrupts the beginnings of what could become a lengthy rant.

“What? Never mind.” Fili looks at Thorin and wonders if his uncle is turning a tiny bit red, or if he is imagining it. But as his uncle continues, he loses track of that thought. “They don’t get along and never will. But no one but Emma seems to see that, and they have this romanticised idea of being a family. In Rivendel, that is.”

“In Rivendel? But Emma is married to you, uncle! And if she weren’t she would have to stay in the Grey Hills to rule there, wouldn’t she?”

“I think, Fili, that reason won’t bring us very far in this matter. The question is wether I should judge them as common criminals or send them home, as my wife asked.”

Fili thinks about it for a while. “Well, uncle” he finally says. “If you judge Melo, Emma has to rule by herself, and I don’t hink she has time for it, so I doubt you will see a lot of her. And if you judge Elrond and his family, we will have a problem with the elves. So best just kick them out unceremoniously and be done with it. Everybody happy and influential people endebted to us.”

“But by doing that, we will disregard our own laws. And I feel we have been doing that quite enough lately.”

“You askes for my opinion, uncle, and I just gave it. You are king, you should decide.” Fili says with a smug smile.

 

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“Queen Emma, prince Kili, if you would please follow me and I will show you to your rooms.”

Feren leads Emma and Kili to their rooms, which re in the same corridor but separated by a room for Emma’s handmaidens. The fact that all rooms are connected by doors makes Emma raise her eyebrows, but she only looks warningly at her handmaidens and says nothing.

But at four in the morning, after Emma has been tossing and turning for hours, she is thankfull for the doors. She isn’t used to sleeping alone, and the only time in her life she did sleep alone was after Melo’s trial when Thorin was upset with her. Before she was married one of her handmaidens always slept in her room, and after she slept with Thorin. But now she is in a strange realm in a strange bed and all alone. So, in a the middle of the night when she is completely fed up with her insomnia, she quietly walks to her handmaidens’ room, pushes Jalila to the edge of her bed and climbs in next to her, falling asleep within a minute.

 

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“The gardens?”

“No, your highness.”

“The secret garden?”

“No, your highness.”

“The steam rooms?”

“No, your highness.”

With every possible place he names and every negative answer he gets, Thranduil grows a little more desperate inside. Only on the inside, of course, he wouldn’t think of showing it. But fact of the matter remains that he has managed to misplace, does one ‘misplace’ a queen, or does one lose them?, queen Emma. The wife of his neighbour with whom he has a tensed relationship and the daughter of the most, yes he has to admit but again only to himself, the most influential elf lord. If she has wandered intot he woods and something has happened, the outcome for him will not be very pretty, or rather ugly.

“Wake her nephew and her handmaidens then, they will have to help in the search. Perhaps they know where she might have gone.”

Feren quickly leaves, happy to be spared a verbal lashing that would have ruined his whole day. He starts with waking the Erebor prince whom, after much grumbling and what he supposed is cursing, gets up and nearly explodes after hearing no one can find Emma. The prince stumps over to the adjoining room, surprising Feren by not using the adjoining doors, and pounds on the door.

**”Get the door, Jalila.”**

**”Damned, why always me?”** Jalila groans, and she slides out of the bed, shivering when her feet touch the cold floor. She pulls a lare silk shawl over her shoulders and opens the door a little bit.

“Goodmorning, your highness.” She says with a small bow of her head to Kili.

“No need for that. You all have to get up immeditely, Emma is missing.”

Jalil appears to stay very calm under this normally distressing news. “Is there perhaps a finders fee for the one who finds her, your highness? That always seems to help in cases like this.”

Kili’s face brightens. “Great idea! 50 gold for the one who finds her.” He says, also looking back at Feren, whom nods.

Jalila looks back into the room, and then dryly says to Kili: “I believe I have found her, your highness.”

“You what?”

“She slept here.” Jalila whispers with a cautious look at Feren.

“Well, then you made a nice extra without doing much.” Kili scowls. “Now wake Emma up. I believe we are expected at breakfast.”

When Jalila closes the door, Emma and her handmaidens burst into laughter and they are still giggling when they walk into the the dining hall, though their mirth is tempered by Thranduil’s annoyed look.

As Emma is already wearing her training clothes, Thranduil leads her to his private training area immediately after breakfast where Feren is waiting with everything they need for their training. Thranduil takes a seat on one of the benches and beckons her with a jerk of his head to sit next to him. After she does, he looks at her for a while, and then says: “Do you know why your ada could not train you himself?”

“I’m sure you will enlighten me.”

“For the same reason he couldn’t get Elladan and Elrohir properly trained; he is too weak to do it.”

“And your point?”

“I’m not. I firmly believe that a certain strictness, a certain harshness will yield results.”

“Again, your point?”

“I don’t think you are going to have the pleasurable two weeks your husband had in mind. That is, if you want to train with me.”

“Well, I do not actually know what Thorin had in mind, but I am fairly sure the program wasn’t his main concern.”

“Shall we start then?”

Emma gets up from the bench. “Where do I stand?”

“Where you are standing now, only with better posture.”

She looks down at herself, standing exactly as she always had been taught.

“Widen your stance, broaden your shoulders but don’t tilt them back.”

Thranduil’s comments on her posture go on for a very lengthy amount of time, sometimes pushing and pulling on her, untill she finally stand in the way he likes. But when he puts his hand on her lower back in an attempt to get her to curve it just right, she spins around and grabs his hand before he knows what is happing. As she realises what she did, she quickly lets go of his hand and lowers her gaze.

“My apologies, please continue.”

With a jerk of his head Thranduil sends Feren out of the room, and as soon as he hears the door close he looks at Emma taxating.

“Did you actually think I would touch your ass?! Did you not trust me when I said it was a one-time thing?”

Emma turns bright red and tries to avoid his scrutinizing stare. “It is not that, I---I—whatever, it is not that.”

“Then what, Emma? If we’re going to do this, I need to know you trust me.”

She feels the notion behind the words; he will not continue untill she shows him she trusts him by telling him.

“Fine, it is a sensitive area. I have a scar there.”

“What kind of a scar?” He asks sternly. “And how long do you have it?”

“It was open, and then it healed. I’ve had it for 15 years or so. Now did you ever wanted to get started with training me or are we going to make me stand in impossible ways all day long?”

“We will not continue untill I am satisfied with your answers.” He curtly replies, and Emma gets the feeling he is acting more and more like an armoury master than as a friend, or acquintance. “Any other scars I should know about?”

She sighs and traces the scars on her thighs. “There and there.”

“And how did you get those?”

“A dragon and an orc. One and a half years and two months ago.”

“You are far more willing to divulge the details of those scars, yet your back makes you tense. Is that the reason you kept your shift pooling around your waist?” His interest seems to stem from genuine motives, as his normally smug smile is not on his face at the moment, but that doesn’t make Emma any happier about the questions.

“They’re there, that’s all you need to know.”

“They?”

She turns a little pink as she realises her slip of the tongue, but this time sh doesn’t lower her gaze. “Either train or not, whatever you prefer. But I am not going to submit to an interrogation ot satisfy your curiosity!”

“You are right, my apologies.” He says with a small nod of his head, and he gets calls for Feren to come back in and stand behind Emma while he assumes to position he has been teaching her all morning.

He starts with a slow attack, only meant to teach her the right moves and not practice them yet, while Feren gives her directions on how to improve her stance. Around noon, they take a break. Emma takes a bath and has some lunch while Thranduil, who hasn’t even broken a sweat, attends to some state matters.

At two, they reconveine, Feren standing behind her again while Thranduil teaches her several attacks. When she slumps a bit from tiredness, she feels a sharp sting on her shoulders before Feren telling her to keep it in the right position. When she looks behind her, she sees he is holding a small stick that he appearantely hit her with. He grits her teeth and jerks her head a bit, but continues to follow Thranduil’s lead. All throughout the afternoon they keep training, Feren hitting her everytime her stance is only a little bit off. After a while, she has the almost uncontrolable urge to reset his nose, but she pours her annoyances into her training and says nothing, only her face going a little bit harder everytime she feels the sting of his damned stick.

When evening approaches the doors suddenly open, startling Emma whom had unsuccesfully been trying to do what Thranduil is showing her, and Kili walks in followed by a nervous looking Tauriel.

>“Where are your handmaidens?”< He asks in a very demanding tone.

Emma shrugs >“I don’t know, I haven’t seen them after breakfast.”<

>”Do you think uncle would allow this?! He pays for your handmaidens to do their duties, not skip around this place and flirting with every man they see! You know you can not be here without someone minding you! Go change or something, lessons are over for today.”<

Emma is a little surprised by Kili’s sudden serious and stern talk; he is normally very laid back and relaxed, and she had not expected him to be so strict about her being alone in Thranduil’s and Feren’s presence. But she knows very well where she stands and she doesn’t want to put Kili in a difficult position as Thorin had no doubt told him very clearly what is expected of him. So she hands the sword back to Thranduil and leaves the hall with a small bow of her head.

 

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“Do you think she is alright?”

Thorin is reclining in the chair of his study, her arms folded behind his head and his feet on his desk. After studying mining plans for the biggest part of the day, he and Fili are now relaxing and enjoying some good vintage whisky.

“Why wouldn’t she?”

“I mean with Thranduil?”

“What about him?” Fili asks carefully.

“Do not take me for a fool, nephew. I know you and Kili have been trying to hide it, but I wasn’t born yesterday.”

Fili carefully arranges his expression in a brave attempt to convey ignorance. “What do you mean, uncle?”

“I know very well what has come to pass between Emma and Thranduil in Rivendel when she left me.”

Fear of an explosion of epic proportions makes that Fili breaks out in a cold sweat and seems to have a diminished control over his voice. “Wha—what do you—you mean, u-uncle?”

“It is of course technically none of my business.” Thorin says as if he doesn’t notice Fili’s nervousness “As we were not married at the time and she was entitled to have her revenge, but I cant help but wonder if he will try to make a pass at her again. And if she wants him to, seeing how eager she was to go and visit him.”

Fili sighs, suddenly feeling very tired. “She wasn’t eager, uncle. If you had seen her last night you would have known she would have given her right arm for you to tell her she didn’t have to go.”

“The why go to the Mirkwood and not the Iron Hills or something?”

“Because there she will be distracted by her training. And it is fairly close to Erebor, so she can be back within reasonable time.”

He watches his uncle stare at the ceiling for a long time, but Finally gathers his courage. “If you have known all this time, why did you never say anything? I mean, you can not be happy about it, or not care.”

“Believe me, I care. But I do not want him to have the satisfaction of me getting upset with him and I want to spare her the shame. And as I said, we weren’t married then. I slept with Jessa when we were married.”

“But why, uncle? Why did you let her go there?”

Thorin remains silent for a long time, Fili watching him intendly for any sign of an outburst. But then his uncle sighs deeply. “If you ever marry, Fili, marry for love. Don’t pressure her into it, even if you think she wants it. I did that, with best intentions, and even now I am not sure if she really loves me.”

“Not sure if she…? Uncle, are you serious?!”

“She would have chosen Kili, you know. She said she would have chosen him just to spite me and Melo’s father for pressuring her to come here. But I don’t know if that’s true or if she actually loved him. Whatever it may be, it’s befitting; me using an outdated concept to get her to be mine and now I will forever be uncertain of her feelings.”

Fili scoffs. “I never thought I would ay this, uncle, but you’re a fool. A drunk fool. If she didn’t love you she would have used Elrond as an excuse not to marry you in the first place, she would have let him take her away. And if she didn’t love you, she wouldn’t have come back from Rivendel. And if she didn’t love you, she wouldn’t have kept her little adventure with Thranduil a secret, but she would have used it to get back at you. And finally, if she didn’t love you, she wouldn’t have bonded with you.”

“She could be afraid to face the world alone; she never had to do that.” Thorin says weakly.

Fili actually starts laughing, Thorin glancing angrily at his inappropriate response. “She rode from before Rivendel to Erebor by herself, then she faced a dragon by herself, then she killed a rather terrifying orc leader by herself and then she rode back to the Grey hills wounded, by herself. She knows she can make her own way.”

“But not moneywise.”comes another weak response.

“She and her brother have more money than there is water in the Celduin. She doesn’t need you for that either. Come to think about it; I have no idea why she is actually staying with you.”

But Fili’s laughter dies down when he sees the uncertain expression on his uncle’s face. “No, seriously uncle, she loves you. And Thranduil, that was just her having a taste of freedom. And it can’t have tasted nice because she came back to you and never mentioned it to anyone, I only know because Kili was skulking around Rivendel trying to find something to hunt. By the way, how do you know?”

Thorin shrugs. “Kili of course, who else?”

“Right, little blabbermouth. But anyway uncle, go to sleep and start the redecorating in the morning. And if I may make a suggestion: get some thicker walls and door, half the royal corridor can hear testiaments of her love for you on a regular basis. Great going by the way, I would have thought, you know, at your age….”

Thorin almost loses his balance in his chair trying to jump up. “Oy! Insulent little---“

But Fili is already heading out the door. “Another piece of evidence, uncle!” He yells grinningly.

 

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A week has passed, in which Emma ha had to do her utmot best not to kill Feren or Thranduil, or both of them, and she has only managed to do it because she has noticed that she really is doing better. She is not yet a light-footed as Elrond or Thranduil, but she definitely improved.

The nights in the Mirkwood are a bit on the dull side for dwarve though. Mostly people converse amongst eachother in soft voices or listen to some harp music. But Emma is polite enough not to complain and has set out to get to know Thranduil’s palace, as Kili keeps disappearing only Mahal knows where to and her handmaidens claim to want to get to know elven culture better and are having deep conversations with some male elves. So she wanders the halls and corridors by herself, even taking a peak in the cells the company was held when they were taken by Thranduil.

But then, one night she passes what must bet he royal corridor. She is quite surprised that she can just walk thorugh it without anyone stopping her. Either the security isn’t very good here or someone has seen her but lets her pass because they know her. Either way, as she walks thorugh the corridor, she sees a blond haired she-elf coming out of what must be Thranduil’s chambers wearing little more than underwear and a very short, silk evening robe.

~”Next time wear the blue ones.”~ She hears Thranduil say with a light chuckle in his, and she stares at the elf, whom only moments later stares back at her before lowering her gaze.

“I am sorry for disturbing you, your highness. I hope I haven’t offended you.” She submissively says while pulling the robe tighter around herself.

“Why would you offend me?”

“His highness prefers us to stay out of sight from visitors. Again, my apologies.”

“Ooooh, you are one of those—those, what’s the word Men use for it again?” Emma says breathlessly.

“A concubine, your highness. Though ‘consort’ might be clearer for you.”

“I see.” Emma nods with a small smile on her lips. “Would you like to join me for a drink in my room?”

The consort jerks her head up at Emma, trying to read her meaning from her expression, but as Emma’s face is blank, she just obediently nods and follows Emma.

In the room Emma takes a seat and waves at the consort to join her.

“So, what is your name?”

“It is Illieth, your highness.”

“Can we speak, Illieth? Confidential, I mean?”

“If that is your wish, your highness.”

“It is. You see, I find myself lacking some—knowledge with regards to—certain parts of married life. I originally planned to visit some paid woman in Dale, but as you are here, this might be less painfull.”

“Painfull, your highness? Why should it be painfull? I mean, we were all inexperienced once.”

“I suppose that’s true. So would you be willing to expand my knowledge on this subject?”

Even though her words may sound confident, Emma is a big wreck of nerves on the inside. When she understood what the she-elves profession was, she knew this was her one chance to learn more without having to go to the darker parts of Dale at night. Though she would have done that, if it was neccessary. It is just clear to her that she cannot meet Thorin’s needs in the bedroom, and he really deserves to have a wife that satisfies him. Thankfully, her nerves are soothed when Illieth smiles knowingly at her and comes to sit next to her.

“What you must always remember, your highness, is that all males, no matter what race, are basically hunters with an ego that needs to be fed from time to time. So they most enjoy two things in the bedroom: having to make an effort and hunt the woman or having a woman that clearly craves them.”

“Right. Hunting or craving. Eeeeeh, and how would that work?”

“Either don’t give in to his demands immediately and tease him for a while. And with a while I mean a day or two of all day teasing, or take the initiative and show him that you want him.”

“I see.” Emma nods. “And then?”

They keep talking, and eventually laughing, untill deep into the night.

 

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Four days later Emma and Illieth are sitting in Emma’s room again after dinner. Not to teach or learn, but just to have fun together, as they have found out they quite like eachother. But then the door swings ajar, slamming with it’s handle into the wall, and Thranduil comes barging intot he room, followed by two guards, Kili and Tauriel.

Emma and Illieth jump up, the latter quickly leaving the room after a growl from Thranduil; her seat then taken by the elven king.

“Tell me, queen Emma, how do dwarves feel about relations without being married?” He asks sternly.

Emma frowns, not having expected such a question. “Eeeeh, not too kindly, one could say. Though it is not completely unheard of.”

“And how do they feel about extramarital pregnancy?”

Emma swallows thickly, seeing Kili and Tauriel both looking a bit remorsefull and hearing Thranduil’s questions.

“That eeeeh, not too kindly either. It is always followd rather quickly by a marriage and a child that is born a little early. Why?”

“I think you had better get your huband here, your highness.” Thranduil replies coldly.

 

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“Dwalin, get them all out of Erebor as soon as I have left. I don’t care where they go or what they do, but they are not to return here uninvited, you understand?”

“As you like, but are you sure this is the best solution? They might come after you, or after Emma. And perhaps not even now, but who knows, in a year or two?”

“They won’t. And making this a case will do us more harm than good. Now, I need to leave; some diplomatic emergency with the three shagger.”

“Make ‘em wait.”

“And this is why I’m king and you’re not. My wife is there, you fool.” Thorin laughs.


	47. Chapter 47

So, after some serious time deficit and a minor writer's block, the second part of the Crown series is up! I hope you will take a look, it is called "A crown, if it hurts us, is not worth wearing".


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